The Shadow of Yuma
by Photon Drake
Summary: Black Mist is back for revenge, but this time, he isn't alone. Kurai Tsukumo, an evil look-a-like of Yuma, has allied with the dastardly Number. What exactly are these two bad Duelists up to? Can Yuma and Astral stop them before it's too late? Update: Unused Ideas are now posted!
1. Chapter 1

**The Shadow of Yuma**

**Ah, hi there! I like, had this Zexal story in my mind for a LONG time. Im just glad I finally had this story here. Enough with me, read on!  
**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh Zexal.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 1**

"Damn Astral… He ruined me again!" cursed Black Mist as he floated around an unknown realm. All that surrounded him were strange black holes that led to different unknown places and asteroids scattered around the area. There were countless worlds to go to, but Black Mist just wasn't in the mood to do so.

"I hate that kid, Yuma Tsukumo! I swear that boy is such a brat!" he spat.

The black ghost sighed and floated through space until he stopped to think. So much had happened. He remembered everything. First, he believed he had successfully gotten Yuma on his side, but that boy deceived him. The second time, Black Mist ALMOST had Astral, but that Number of his, Hope, came in the nick of time to make Black Mist vanish from the Key. Now, the dark spirit was floating in a random sub-space in the middle of nowhere.

Black Mist sighed, "Yuma Tsukumo… The next time I see you, I will make you pay!"

Not far from Black Mist stood a giant rock formation. The rock stood up high like Heartland Tower. In the shadows of the rock tower, a pair of red eyes could be seen. The shadowy figure grinned at Black Mist. Shrouds of darkness surrounded his body, showing his dark side. For some reason, silhouette had a familiar shape….

The silhouette his listened to Black Mist's musings and then said, "So, this spirit wants to get rid of that brat, Yuma Tsukumo? Well, this sounds interesting! If I can get rid of Yuma, then, I'll take over Heartland City and become its king! I think this chump may help me do so!"

The silhouette stepped out of the shadows and bellowed loud enough for Black Mist to hear. "Hey! Tall, dark, and creepy ghost, over here!"

Black Mist looked up. The figure's voice sounded REALLY familiar to him. Who he had heard was….

"Yuma Tsukumo," he growled, "you jerk-face, don't even come near me!"

"Who's this Yuma Tsukumo? I'm Kurai Tsukumo, this so-called Yuma's evil side! You're like that pesky blue spirit of Yuma's!"

"Is that so?" countered Black Mist. "Show yourself!"

"If you wish," responded the silhouette, much to the spirit's surprise.

The silhouette stepped out of the shadows and his appearance was finally revealed. Black Mist noticed that the boy's appearance was strikingly similar to Yuma's, except there were a few differences. Kurai had two huge scars on his chest resembling the Roman numeral "II", sunglasses were covering his eyes, and instead of orange crescent moon patterns on his pants, there were blue sun patterns. Kurai had the same jacket as Yuma's, but his was purple. He even wore the same Lord's Key, but it had murky silver-like chrome. Black Mist was speechless because Kurai looked EXACTLY like Yuma.

"H-h-how the heck do you look so much like Yuma Tsukumo?" stammered Black Mist, thinking he was insane.

Kurai pushed his sunglasses over his eyes, revealing eyes like Yuma's, but his own eyes had a dark look to them. "Simple, I'm just his shadow from another dimension. Life got boring in old Darkland City," he replied in a confident tone.

Black Mist studied the boy's appearance carefully. He DID look exactly like his enemy. What had caught the Number's attention were the huge scars on Kurai's chest. "Where did those scars on your chest come from?" said the Number, pointing at Kurai's chest.

Kurai sighed, and he sat down on a nearby rock. "These scars were all because of that old man, Rokujuro. I had traveled to Yuma's world one day because I had heard that there was an old dojo that had legendary cards. I decided to 'visit the place one day. The moment I entered the dojo, he kept babbling on and on that I should respect Duel Monsters, and the only thing he gave me where those boring lectures," he hissed, hinting that he was not very fond of Rokujuro. Kurai stopped for a moment as he stared at his chest and traced his scars.

"I tried to steal one of the supposed legendary cards everyone spoke about. Before I could grab one, the fool's apprentice* slashed me with his katanas. Anyway, that old fool's not important!"

"What exactly are you here for?" inquired Black Mist. "Unless it has something to do with Numbers, you've come to the wrong guy."

Kurai grinned with a grim expression. "I couldn't help but overhear your sap story about this Astral dude. You hate Yuma Tsukumo, and well, I hate that little freak! I want to get rid of that brat and become king of his city! I want in!"

Black Mist began to wonder if this boy really wanted to get rid of Yuma. Did he really want to join forces with him? Or will he be a mere puppet? Black Mist shrugged off the thought and looked at Kurai. "Interesting," he hissed, "you can come with me, on one condition."

"Oh yeah, and what's that?"

The Number placed his hands in a circular motion. A 3D-like projection of a Number card appeared, but it was a certain Number. Kurai was a little impressed by the image.

"This is what I need you to get for me! Get that squirt's Number card, Aspiring Emperor Hope!" said Black Mist, indicating the card, "that jerk won't know what hit him! Once Hope's under our control, I'll finally kill of Astral!"

Kurai grinned in approval to the black ghost's plan. "Since you'll be off killing Astral, I want to be the king of Heartland City. But, I need a queen. You can't be a king without a girl as your queen! Problem is, where can I find a good girl to be my queen?"

"Perhaps I might be of assistance," said Black Mist. "Yuma always hangs out with this bratty green-haired girl, Kotori Mizuki."

Black Mist projected a picture of Kotori. Kurai carefully observed the girl's appearance. She was just the one for him, because her beauty impressed him. "She's perfect," he said in awe, "just the girl I'm looking for! But, when do we start? I want to find Yuma!"

"Patience, boy, we'll wait for the perfect moment to take down Yuma and his friends."

"Then the real action begins?"

"Oh, yes. It _**will**_ happen.

Kurai pushed his sunglasses over his head. He looked at a portal which had a moving image of Yuma and Kotori. He stared at Kotori mostly over Yuma. "Yuma Tsukump, you will be mine! You'll see, and I'll get your girl too!"

* * *

***Anyone remember Kaze from Rokujuro's Duel Lodge?**

**Stardust Finex: Annnndddd... that concludes Chapter 1! ANy quetions, comments, or concerns, please leave a review!  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**Stardust Finex : Okay! We're already on Chapter 2! So far, what exactly are Kurai and Dark Mist planning to do? **

**Yuma: That will be revealed later, so sit back and enjoy the show! Kotori, can you hand me some popcorn?  
**

**Kotori: No! You already at half of the box!  
**

**Stardust Finex: *sighs* Anyway, I do NOT own Yugioh in any way possible.  
**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

At Heartland High School, the school day ended as a spiky-haired boy raced outside of his classroom. He seemed in really good spirits, especially on such a wonderful day. The boy had never been this cheery before.

"Oh yeah! It's Kattobingu time!" cheered the boy.

A green haired girl and a hefty boy wearing a red hat ran after the boy. They panted in exhaustion after finally chasing their friend. "Gosh, Yuma, slow down!" said the girl, while she was panting on the stairs. "What's gotten into you? You've been acting like Tokunosuke when he drank seventeen cans of Coke at Takashi's party!"

Yuma looked at the girl in shock. "You don't know what today is? It's my birthday, remember? Granny and Akari said they had something for me when I got home today!"

"Yuma, what is a birthday?"

The said boy jumped at the sound of the voice. He realized that the source was none other than his counterpart, Astral.

"Geez, Astral! Let me know next time you try to scare me like that!" cried Yuma. "You nearly gave me a heart attack!"

"I had no intention of scaring you like those ghosts I had seen on those ghost-hunting shows on TV," said Astral. "What is a birthday?"

"A birthday is when you celebrate the day a person was born," replied Yuma. "Usually, people celebrate with a party. Everyone gets together and eats cake and they party."

"So, the whole point of today is to celebrate your birth, and to party?"

"Pretty much, yeah."

Astral seemed satisfied with Yuma's answer. The blue ghost wandered away from the kids for a moment.

"Observation #22: The purpose of a 'birthday' is to have a ceremony of a human's birth as a ritual, also known as a party," he remarked.

The blue ghost began to watch the kids from a distance so they could have their privacy. "Humans are puzzling creatures I'll never understand," sighed Astral.

After Astral left, Yuma looked around to make sure he wasn't coming back. When all seemed clear, Yuma wanted to resume his conversation.

"Now, what were we doing before Astral showed up?" inquired the spiky-haired boy.

"Oh, that's right! I had something for you!" said Tetsuo. He put his bag on the ground and began to search inside it. The boy pulled out a clunky box and placed it into Yuma's eager hands.

Yuma happily accepted the box. "Alright, let's see what's inside! Wonder what's in here!" He carefully ripped off the wrapping paper, and the bow as well. After the paper came off, Yuma was quite happy. "No way! Chocolate rice balls? Thank you, Tetsuo!"

"Happy Birthday, Yuma! It's the least  
I could do!" replied Tetsuo. "Oy, Kotori, don't you have something for Yuma?"

Kotori raised her eyes in realization. "Yeah, I do! Hold on a sec!" She opened her bag and searched for Yuma's present. She pulled out a little gift bag, and placed it in Yuma's hands. "You're going to love this, I just know it!"

Yuma happily accepted the gift. "Thank you, Kotori!" He ripped the red plastic tissue from the bag and boy, was he surprised. "No way! You got me the latest Duel Monsters pack, 'Order of Chaos'? How did you know I wanted these?"

"I have my sources," replied Kotori sheepishly. "Happy Birthday, Yuma!"

Yuma smiled back at both of his best friends. "Thank you, guys! I'll see you two later!" He ran off while waving back to his friends.

* * *

Meanwhile in the busy streets of Heartland City, a black hole opened through a wall in an alley. Two figures fell out of the hole. One fell into the dumpster, while the other just floated. The figure that fell into the dumpster groaned while rubbing his head.

"Ow, next time, could you be a little more gentle? You could've killed me there!" The boy sniffed a rotten stench coming from the dumpster, and from his own clothes. "Oh, great! I smell like garbage!" complained the boy, "where is that brat Yuma? I've got a 'few words' to say to that loser!"

Black Mist sighed at the boy's impatience. "Patience, Kurai," he sighed, "I know when it's the perfect time to strike. But first, we need to lure Yuma to us."

* * *

Yuma ran home from school until he finally reached his house. He opened the door and walked in. "I'm home!" he called.

Silence filled the house. Not a single sound was heard throughout the Tsukumo household. Only the wind blew through an open window.

"Huh?" said a confused Yuma, "Granny? Akari? Where are you?"

Yuma wandered into the kitchen. Haru wasn't there cooking. The boy began to be confused. "That's odd. Where could have Granny wandered off to?" said Yuma, placing his left hand onto his head in confusion.

"Wonder where nee-chan went," thought Yuma. "She couldn't have wondered off that far."

Yuma left the kitchen and wandered down the hall. He then approached a door marked, "Computer Room." Yuma hastily opened the door, hoping to find Akari sitting in her chair doing her journalism work. Instead, all he found was an empty room and the computer shut down. Yuma sighed in defeat. No one wasn't seen anywhere around the house. Yuma dejectedly walked back to the kitchen. It was his birthday, and none of his relatives were around.

Suddenly, a strange, but familiar whirring sound quickly entered the kitchen. Yuma's ears perked up at the whirring sound. "Is that….?"

A round, egg-shaped, roving robot wheeled itself into the kitchen. A red bow was tied around one of it's antennas. Two wheels stood in place on top of the floor. It seemed to have a smile on it's face, despite most robots being emotionless. "Yuma, Yuma, you're a dum-dum." chirped the robot.

Yuma mentally slapped himself. Everyday, Obomi constantly "teased" the boy. "I am not a dum-dum, Obomi!" he retaliated, "YOU'RE the dum-dum!"

"Shut up, dum-dum," said Obomi. She extracted her metal arms and pointed towards a piece of white paper. "Go there, dum-dum." With that, Obomi strolled away into another room.

Yuma spotted the paper on the kitchen counter. He went over to it and picked up the note. "'Yuma, we've gone to the store. We'll be back in an hour, from Granny and Akari.' Oh well, guess I'll have to wait." said Yuma.

0000

Meanwhile, inside the Emperor's Key, Astral stared at the gears containing the Number Cards in silence. He was deep in thought. Astral didn't know why, but for some reason, he had a feeling was going to happen.

'I can't say why, but something's not right. What exactly could it be? Is it possible another Number is close by?' thought the blue spirit. 'All of these Number Cards are the key to my memories. But, what does it mean?'

0000

At the Tsukumo house, Yuma sat in the attic while going over his deck. "If I activated this spell card when I use this monster's ability…." he mused, "then maybe I could-"

Suddenly, the window flung open by itself. A small envelope blew itself inside the Tsukumo house without any care. The envelope gently swayed toward Yuma. The boy felt something touch his back. He turned around to find an envelope stuck on his back. Yuma took the envelope off of his back and looked at it curiously. The envelope was addressed to him, but there were no stamps or return address. Only his name bore on the envelope.

"What the heck is this? Why does it have my name on it? I guess there's only one way to find out!" said Yuma. He swiped a pair of scissors out of a drawer. He then cut open the envelope to find a note. The boy carefully took the paper out of the envelope. Yuma began to read the note: "Yuma Tsukumo, I have heard that you're a Numbers Hunter. If that's the case, I have heard that there's a Numbers Holder lurking around an alley near the 'Life is Carnival' building.* My name is of no importance. You can thank me later. Signed, Anonymous."

"What? A Number Holder?" Yuma shouted after reading the note.

Astral came out of the Emperor's Key in the nick of time to see the note Yuma had read. "Yuma, what is that?" he asked, pointing at the mysterious letter.

"Someone said that there's a Numbers Holder out in an alley somewhere," replied Yuma, "but why would that person specifically tell us about a Numbers Holder? It's not like we're the only Duelists who hunt Numbers."

"I am not sure," replied Astral, "I don't think I can trust this source for a Number Holder's location. This is serious business."

Meanwhile…..

Outside of Yuma's home, a silhouette could be seen hiding in a tree not too far from the house. Only pure red eyes could be seen in the dark. He had heard every word Yuma and Astral had said as he had good hearing. The silhouette grinned in success while listening to their conversation.

"Phase one completed! I got that loser to fall into my trap!"

* * *

*Yuma had dueled Charlie McCoy at that same 'Life is Carnival' building. Anyone remember Number 7: Lucky Stripe?

**Astral: Yuma, we need to be on the lookout next time!  
**

**Yuma: I already know, Astral!  
**

**Tokunosuke: It is very strange indeed, ura.  
**

**Astral: Ahem, review if you wish. My memories depend on it!  
**

**Yuma: We're looking for Numbers.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Sundown fell into Heartland City. The neon signs all over the city came on and a brilliant light show began. The city never looked so beautiful, especially on Yuma's birthday. Yuma and Astral were on the rooftop of the house watching the sun set. Astral had never seen such a beautiful sight, not even in the Astral world. Everything on Earth and it's cultures was strange and unusual to him. But over time, he learned much about Earth and it's people. For now, the blue spirit was in deep thought.

'Why would someone only tell me and Yuma about a Number Holder? Surely, Kaito would probably know about this, but I can't guarantee it. We have to be on the lookout for anything unusual,' thought Astral.

Yuma noticed that something was bothering his companion. "Astral? Is something bothering you?"

"Yes," replied Astral. He crossed his arms and looked at the sky. "I'm not so sure about this 'Number Holder.' What if it's a trap? It'll be my fault if you're gone or hurt. I'll never forgive myself."

Yuma looked at the sky for a moment, then he looked at his spirit companion. "Sometimes, in life, you just got to take risks, even when you're saving a world out there. You're my friend, Astral, and I want to help you."

"Even during the worst times, you will still help me?"

"If you put it that way, yes. Sometimes, you just have to take risks, even when we're saving your own world."

All Astral could do was slightly smile in response. He was very touched by Yuma's speech. He never knew his human partner was that concerned for him. Come to think of it, Yuma had always stood by his side. 'Thank you, Yuma. You do not know how much that means to me,' thought Astral.

Suddenly, a car could be seen driving onto Yuma's driveway. Yuma realized whose car that was, and he knew what that meant. "Astral! Granny and Sis are home! You know what that means?"

Astral raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Is it what you humans would say, 'party time'?"

Yuma jumped up and grinned happily. "Heck, yeah! Let's go!"

Once Yuma and Astral went back into the attic and descended downstairs, they made their way to the kitchen. However, after they came downstairs, they were greeted by Yuma's friends.

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY!" cheered everyone, who were now tossing confetti all around Yuma, much to his pleasure.

Tetsuo, Takashi, Cathy, Kotori, and Tokunosuke, came up to the birthday boy and praised him. They showered the boy with even more confetti.

"Happy Birthday, ura!" cheered Tokunosuke.

Tokunosuke looked around for a moment.  
He pulled Yuma close to him and whispered, "Whatever you do, NEVER drink seventeen cans of soda at a party ever again! Trust me, you do NOT want to know what happens, ura!"

"Ummm…" responded Yuma.

"That doesn't matter! I got something for you, ura!" Tokunosuke hauled a huge basket of riceballs onto the counter in front of Yuma. "Why don't you have one, ura? Don't be shy!"

Yuma hesitated for a moment, but shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, thank you, Tokunosuke!"

As soon as Yuma grabbed one riceball, he was greeted by confetti in his face.

Takashi seemed to be more pleasant than his typical self. "To summarize, today is a wonderful day to celebrate, Yuma-kun! Cheers to you!"

"Ah, thank you, Takashi!" said Yuma, while he was brushing off the confetti from Tokunosuke's "present".

Cathy embraced Yuma, blushing. "Umm…. Happy Birthday Yuma.." she said shyly.

Yuma smiled back at Cathy, "Thank you, Cat-chan."

Cathy let go of Yuma and blushed in response. 'He-he…. he does remembers me after all," she thought.

Suddenly, Yuma felt himself being crushed tightly. "Mmph ummph! (Hey! Let me go!)" he muffled.

A big laugh could be heard, "Oh, come on, Yuma! Can't I give my best friend a birthday noogie?"

Yuma was released and he found himself close to none other than Tetsuo. He rubbed his back, "Oy, thanks for the noogie, Tetsuo."

Kotori smiled at Yuma. "Happy Birthday, Yuma!"

"Thank you, Kotori!" responded the boy. He smiled back at her in response, and beckoned, "Come on, we don't want to miss this party!"

Before Yuma could leave, he felt a hand grab his shoulder. He was soon face-to face- with Akari. His sister smiled at her brother. " Happy Birthday, little brother. You're fourteen now. Don't grow up too fast. When I first held you after you were born, it seemed like yesterday."

Yuma blushed, "Thank you, Akari."

"Oh, Granny and I got you something!" Akari pulled out a nicely wrapped box behind her back. She handed it to her brother. "Go on, open it!"

Yuma accepted the box and carefully opened it. After he pulled off the wrapping paper, boy, was he happy.  
A green box for the latest video game system was finally his!

"Sweet, a DuelStation-X! Thank you!" said Yuma.

"Yuma!" chirped a voice.

Yuma looked down to find Obomi. She had her metal hands crossed as if she was waiting for him.

"Oh, hey Obomi!" waved Yuma.

"I found this picture of you! I'm letting everyone see it!" said Obomi.

Obomi hooked up some cables into her system. She hooked herself up to a portable prohector inside of her system. After a few minutes of set-up, the Litterbot projected an image of Yuma onto the wall, which shocked the unfortunate Birthday Boy.

The image consisted of a naked baby Yuma, who was taking a bath, which caused everyone to roar into laughter.

"Yuma is such a dirty little boy, ura!" Tokunosuke whispered to Takashi, trying to contain his giggles.

"Yuma is indeed very dirty!" joked the Class President.

Cathy and Kotori only blushed while they giggled at the picture. Tetsuo was laughing on the floor. He seemed entertained by the photo.

"Hahaha! Oh my god! Yuma- you- HAHAHA!" roared Tetsuo.

"I remember this picture," reminisced Haru. "Yuma was having his first bath just a few weeks after he was born. You remember helping washing Yuma, don't you, Akari?"

Akari laughed in response. "How could  
I forget? I remember that Yuma kept splashing water into Mom and Dad! Yuma even peed in their faces!"

Astral stared at Yuma's picture from a distance. He was laughing a little, which showed he was enjoying the party a bit. "Observation 23: Humans are embarrassed when their memories as an infant are seen by other people besides themselves."

Yuma blushed madly in embarrassment, and at his picture. "Geez, it's just a baby picture! Nothing special!" he said, waving his arms and attempting to cover the picture.

Later that night, all of the kids were playing video games on Yuma's new DuelStation-X in the Yuma's room.  
The kids were playing "House of the Dead". Right now, Yuma, Kotori, Tokunosuke, Cathy, and Takashi were all desperately shooting the zombies attacking their characters. After an hour of zombie hunting, Haru and Akari came into Yuma's room with a smile.

Haru clapped her hands. "Alright, kids, it's cake time!" Everyone cheered in response.

"And, you know what else this means?" winked Akari.

Yuma's ears perked up at the momenr. "Presents? Where?" he shouted excitedly.

Akari laughed and placed her left hand on Yuma's head. "No, silly, you have to wait until you do your cake first."

"Right," said Yuma sheepishly.

The kids and the adults eventually made their way into the kitchen. Yuma was incredibly excited. Astral was watching very close for more observations.

Finally, the moment had arrived. Haru and Akari hauled in a pyramid-shaped cake. It had a very colorful golden yellow frosting, and it was so detailed, it could make anyone's mouth water. What was peculiar about the cake was the golden eye on the front.* On top of the cake stood a number decoration that resembles the Number Card symbol for 14. Once the cake was lit, everyone sang "Happy Birthday."

Astral watched carefully while Yuma blew out his candles. The blue alien was full of wonder. He had observed a ritual for a human's day of birth ceremony. What made Astral feel good was what Yuma had said to him.

"You're my friend, Astral, and I want to help you," rang in his mind over and over again.

Could this day get any better?

After the cake was blown out, everyone ate parts of the cake. Things were going well until the kids decided to play "Truth or Dare."

"Okay, Yuma! Truth or dare, ura?" asked Tokunosuke.

Yuma thought hard. Which would he do? "I pick…. dare!"

Tokunosuke did his signature mischievous grin. He positioned his hat and glasses and said, "I dare you…. to wear your birthday suit, ura! This time, you can't refuse or not do the dare!"

Yuma blushed in embarrasment. He could feel the states from everyone, even Astral. He got up and said, "Kotori? Cat-chan? Could you two go outside my room? I don't think you want to see me in my birthday suit."

Both girls hesitated, but they nodded and agreed to stay outside for a minute.

"Yuma, be strong!" whispered Cathy.

"If Tetsuo posts a picture of you in your birthday suit, let me know and I'll have a 'talk' with him, okay?" said Kotori, offering her friend a gentle smile.

Yuma smiled back. "Thanks, Kotori."

Once both girls left Yuma's room, all the boys turned towards Yuma. They grinned mischievously and laughed at the same time.

"Alright, ura! You have to do your dare!" said Tokunosuke.

"To summarize, there's no turning back!" remarked Takashi.

"Come on, Yuma! Show us what you're made of! Be a man!" shouted Tetsuo.

Yuma blushed red like a tomato. They were right. He couldn't refuse or not do the date. He had no choice. It was guys only, so why would it be a big problem. Yuma sighed and he lowered his jacket. Then, he took off his accessories (minus his Key) and he undid his belt. Before Yuma did anything else, all the boys grabbed their cameras and D-Gazers.  
The spiky-haired boy took this as a sigm to keep on going. Yuma removed his shirt and tossed it to the side. Finally, Yuma took off his socks and he stood in his boxers.

What Tetsuo, Takashi, and Tokunosuke had seen was very funny to them.  
The three boys started giggling quietly, and they burst out into laughter. They all dropped their cameras and D-Gazers.

"Hahaha! To summarize, Yuma's underwear design is ridiculous!" laughed Takashi, who was holding his stomach.

Tokunosuke rolled all over the floor.  
"I never knew Yuma still wears dinosaur underwear!"

"HAHAHAHA! Yuma, you're- haha- officially a man today! You actually did one of Tokunosuke's dares!" laughed Tetsuo, who was laughing on the floor.

Astral instated at Yuma in shock and was in slight disturbance. He had never seen Yuma in only his underwear, and this was a rare moment. "Observation 23: A birthday suit is when a human is not wearing any layer of clothing except a type of clothing called underwear."

Tokunosuke finally stopped laughing. He approached Yuma. "When I said you had to be in your birthday suit, I mean. You literally had to wear a birthday suit!"

Yuma huffed, "You mean…. I had to strip down to my underwear for nothing?"

"Pretty much, ura."

Yuma mentally slapped himself. He moaned, "Next time, I'm making Toku strip down to his underwear."

Everyone partied for a few more hours until it was time for everyone to go on home. Even the birthday boy had to go to bed like everyone else. After Yuma said his goodbyes to his friends, he decided to call it a day.

"Good night, Granny! Good night, sis! Bye, Obomi! Thanks for everything today!" shouted Yuma as he ascended up the stairs.

"Good night!" replied Akari and Haru.

"Bye-bye, Yuma," said Obomi.

0000

Yuma retreated into his room, then he ascended into the attic, and he plopped into his hammock. He closed his eyes and dozed off. About an hour later or so, the spiky-haired boy jolted from his sleep. Yuma jumped off the hammock. He snatched the mysterious envelope he had received earlier and read the note again. "'Life is Carnival' building? That's where this Number Holder lurks at."

Yuma looked out of his window, then around the attic. A determined look grew on his face. "I know what I have to do! I'm gonna track down that Number Holder and get that Number Card! I'm gonna bring it to 'em!"

Yuma quietly got dressed, then he snuck out of his window. Once the boy was outside, he ran to the downtown area of the city. He ran for about half an hour or so. Finally, the same, familiar purple building popped up in his view. "There it is," he whispered. "The Number Holder is around here somewhere. Astral is right, I've got to be aware of my surroundings. The city's not always this bright and happy."

Yuma made a turn around the building and spotted a dark alley in the corner. He took the envelope out of his pocket and re-read it. He looked up at the alley after reading. "I guess this must be the place," he concluded.

"Yuma, this is where the Number Holder lurks. We must be aware of our surroundings," said Astral as he came out of the key. He looked around the alley, "This place gives me an eerie feeling."

Up on the rooftops, a silhouette grinned at Yuma and Astral (he could see Astral for some reason). He readied himself, and without a care, he took a great leap off of the rooftops.

BOOM!

Yuma and Astral jumped at the sound of the noise. "Yuma! What was that?" said a jittery Astral.

Yuma clenched his fists, "Whatever it was, it didn't sound good. I have a feeling it's the Number Holder!"

Suddenly, the silhouette from the rooftops could be seen in the distance. He was walking toward the two. He was getting closer and closer. Yuma and Astral braced themselves, ready for anything, especially a Number Holder.

"Hehehehe…. Yuma Tsukumo….. Astral…." said a taunting voice. "You think you're going to be a Duel Champion one day, but I think I'll be taking that title…"

Astral's ears perked up. 'The Number Holder's voice sounds a lot like Yuma's voice! But, Yuma's right here! How can this Number Holder see me?' he thought.

Yuma didn't seem intimidated. "Come on out, Number Holder! Show yourself!"

Silence filled the alley for a moment, not one sound was heard. Then, the figure approached the two Duelists. Yuma could see that something was familiar about the figure. It was… himself?

The silhouette had finally stepped out of the shadows. He had an evil grin on his face, and dark sunglasses covered the boy's eyes. He lowered them, revealing pure red eyes like Yuma's.

"Yuma Tsukumo, I have found you!"

*Can any of you guess what Yuma's birthday cake resembles? Any Yugioh fan should know the answer! :D


	4. Chapter 4

**Stardust Finex: *pops out of a magical box of mystery* Ah, hello, my fellow readers! We're on a roll so far! Last time, Yuma had finally met up with the mysterious "Number Holder", but is he really a Number Hunter?**

**Shark: Maybe if you stopped keeping us in suspense, I would know!**

**Stardust Finex: Chill out, Shark. I promise you WILL appear in the story sometime. **

**Akari: How do you keep updating so quickly?**

**Stardust Finex: Simple. I work fast. However, updates may take a few days because I need to think of how to make the story sound great. Now, I'm done. Tron, care to say anything to the world?**

**Tron: Of course! *laughs* Stardust Finex does NOT own Yugioh Zexal! Could someone bring me cake? I REALLY like cake!**

***UPDATE: There is an active poll going on! Visit my page to vote! POLL CLOSES MAY 11!***

* * *

**Chapter 4**

"What? You're me?" cried Yuma. He did not expect to find HIMSELF (or so he thought) as the Number Holder. He was very surprised that he was face-to-face with 'himself.' Never before in his life did Yuma think he would meet someone that looks EXACTLY the same as him.

Astral was quite shocked that were TWO Yumas. He had heard of the concept of twins, as they looked alike, but the blue spirit could tell that the boy had no relation to Yuma whatsoever. He noticed that the boy's eyes had a sharp look, and there were two scars on his chest resembling two lines.* However, what caught Astral's attention was that there was a small tattoo of the Number,96, above the boy's navel.**

'Number 96? Why does this boy have a Number on his body? Is he possessed, or an illusion?' thought Astral.

The other 'Yuma' lifted his sunglasses from his eyes to his head. He grinned evilly, revealing some of his sharp teeth.

"Nope, not even close, Yuma Tsukumo. I AM you, but you could say that I'm your bad side. I'm Kurai Tsukumo. You don't need to tell me about that blue Jell-O friend of yours. A friend of mine told me all about Astral here."

Astral had a confused look on his face. "Yuma, what is a Jell-O? Is that a Spell card? If so, what's its effect?"

"Not now, Astral!" snapped Yuma. "We've got other things to worry about besides Jell-O!" He put his focus back on his double. "Why are you here? Where's the Number Holder?"

Kurai laughed, "Yuma, you're so easy to fool. There is NO Number Holder, just me! I can take you down easily because you and your blue friend here are morons!"

"Take that back!" growled Yuma. He clenched his fists. "I mean it, Kurai! Get out of our way!"

"I don't think so. You have something I want, and I'm not leaving until I get it!" said Kurai. He held out his hand, "Give me Number 39, Hope, now! Don't make me fight you for it!"

Yuma gripped his deck box tightly, while readying himself. "Never! My monsters are my comrades, not beings that you can just use for your own amusement! If you think I'm jut gonna hand over Hope, think again!"

Kurai sighed in response. He placed his sunglasses over his eyes and proceeded to stroll away. However, when it seemed like he was leaving, he said, "Fine then, guess I'll just… you know.."

"What are you talking about ?" snapped Yuma.

Kurai turned around quickly pulled out a blade and held it in his hand in a stabbing position. Yuma froze at the size of the blade. The pink-spiky haired boy was too frozen in fear to move. Kurai assumed that Yuma was scared of him, now that he showed how dangerous he really was.

Kurai charged into Yuma and knocked him down. Yuma fell against the wall and his arms were forcibly pinned above his head. Kurai removed Yuma's jacket and his shirt, and he tossed both items to the side. Yuma's eyes grew wide at the knife's sharp blade. Kurai took this as a sign of fear.

"There's just one thing missing, Yuma. You'll see what I mean after I do this to you!" he hissed.

The dastardly boy took his knife and cut a line across Yuma's chest. Yuma felt the blade cutting through his skin. He cried out in pain, "AUUGHHH!" Yuma never felt so much pain in his life, let alone what was happening to him now. Kurai only ignored his cries and kept scarring the boy below him. Only a nasty trail of blood accompanied Yuma's wounds.

Astral began to become very worried as he tried to process what was happening. He watched in horror as Kurai drew his blade across Yuma's body. He cried out, "YUMA!"

Yuma couldn't hear Astral due to Kurai scarring him with his blade. The blue ghost reached for his companion in desperation. "Stop this! Yuma doesn't-"

Astral's hand only went through Kurai.

"No….. Yuma…." cried the blue ghost. "No…. no…"

Astral disappeared inside the Key.

* * *

After Kurai finished cutting the first scar on Yuma's chest, he put his knife on the ground for a moment. The wound on Yuma's chest bled. Kurai picked up the blade again and proceeded to carve the second scar onto Yuma's stomach. Yuma only groaned in response. There was no way he could fight back. He had already lost some blood due to the blade wound.

Kurai stopped for a moment to look at his own chest scars, then Yuma's. He finished to proceed his scarification on Yuma. After a few more cuts, Kurai finally finished the second scar. He looked at his work.

This was just what he wanted to see: Pain inflicted on Yuma.

Kurai looked at Yuma, who was now quietly sobbing from the pain of the knife wounds. Yuma's chest was now a bloody mess. Kurai leaned in close to the wounded boy. "Now you're just like me," he said mockingly.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside of the Key, Astral had retreated in shame. He was sobbing loudly. He curled into a ball and floated around the subspace inside of the Key. Astral was really miserable and mentally scarred after what he had seen what that boy did to Yuma. His eyes were full of tears, and he looked emotionally wrecked. Images of Yuma being wounded in the chest flashed through Astral's mind. "Yuma….. please forgive me…. I couldn't help you," he said hoarsely.

* * *

Rain began to pass throughout Heartland City after Kurai had inflicted pain upon his double. Yuma was now lying on the ground unconscious due to exhaustion and blood loss. The blood from his wounds began to dry, leaving behind scabs covering the wound. Kurai was satisfied by his work. 'I can't believe it!' he thought. 'I actually did it! I hurt that squirt a lot better than I had expected! But, now, what should I do with him?'

"I believe I can be of assistance."

Kurai turned around to see a black creature that resembled Astral. He grinned as he approached the spirit. "Ah, Dark Mist, you missed all the fun I had with Yuma!"

Dark Mist shrugged as he starred at the unconscious Yuma. "Eh, whatever. Did you get that Number Card?"

Kurai bent over the unconscious Yuma. He sneered at the boy, because to him, Yuma was a weakling.

"I wanted to inflict some pain on Yuma before I have 'fun' with him. I wanted him to suffer the same fate I had from Roku. Now, the Number Card's all yours, my Dark Lord," said Kurai.

"Excellent work, Kurai. You're a lot more efficient than I had expected," said Black Mist.

He held out his hand and suddenly, a Number Card floated away from Yuma and ended up in the dark spirit's hands. Black Mist examined the Number Card carefully. "'Number 39: Hope" he read. "At last, it's ours! If you'll excuse me, Kurai, I have things to do with this Number Card. Do what you want with Yuma, I don't want to be involved with that brat unless I feel like it," he commanded.

Black Mist vanished into thin air after receiving the Number Card.

Kurai looked away from Black Mist after he vanished. He stared at the Key, still attached to Yuma's neck. He snapped the Key off and placed it onto his own neck.

"I think I'll take this Key as a trophy," he said, while admiring the Key.

Suddenly, an idea came into his head. Kurai looked at Yuma. "I don't think Yuma will mind if I 'borrow' his clothes," he said mischievously. "If I pretend to be Yuma, then maybe I can find this Kotori and make her my queen! It all adds up perfectly!" he declared.

Kurai then took off his own clothes, and he did the same to Yuma. After Kurai put on Yuma's pants, he picked up Yuma's shirt and frowned at it. "Ugh! Really? I hate wearing shirts! It makes me look like a freaking softie!"

Kurai looked back at Yuma, who was slightly stirring. "Fine, guess I'll wear the stupid shirt so I won't blow my cover," he groaned.

Once Yuma's clothes were removed, Kurai put his own clothes on Yuma. The boy then looked into an old mirror standing in the alley. He smirked at his reflection. "Yes, this is perfect! Kotori Mizuki WILL be mine! Now, what should I do with Yuma?"

Kurai looked around the alley for a moment until he spotted something brown by a few crates. He made his way toward the boxes. On the ground laid nylon rope in a perfect spiral. Kurai snapped his fingers, "Ah hah! I got it!" He picked up the rope bundle and Yuma and quickly made his way out of the alley.

* * *

**Meanwhile….**

Inside the Key, Hope was bound to a very tight substance. The mighty Number was now helpless, because it could not break free. Black Mist approached the rope-bound monster with a smirk on his face.

"Yes… Number 39….. You're mine at last! Don't even count on that pathetic Astral to help you! He's nothing but a wuss now!" cackled the dark spirit.

The said monster struggled as it was binded together by black, gel-like tentacles. Hope grunted and grunted as it tried to break itself free. None the less, it couldn't break out. Hope only moaned in pain.

Black Mist held his hand out. A 3D projection of a tablet popped out of his palm. He read the text carefully, and he looked back at Hope. "There, there, Hope," the black ghost said mockingly, "by the time Yuma will even find you, you'll already be a pawn to the darkness!" Black Mist cackled so loud, his laugh echoed throughout the Key's subspace.

* * *

***Astral thinks Kurai's scars resemble regular lines; he doesn't know about Roman numerals.**  
****Kurai had received his Number tattoo shortly after the events of Chapter 1.**

* * *

**Tetsuo: Oh my god, you killed Yuma!**

**Kotori: YUMA WHAT?**

**Stardust Finex: You two, relax. I can assure you, that Yuma is NOT dead! **

**Akari: And how do we know that?**

**Stardust Finex: If Yuma was really dead, then the story would be over, okay?**

***Any suggestions? Leave them in the reviews, please!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Stardust Finex: "Ah, hello everyone! Sorry to keep you waiting!"**

**Orbital 7: "What took you so long, Finex-sama?"**

**Stardust Finex: "It was school-related. Anyway, here's chapter 5!"**

* * *

**Chapter 5**

Thunder pounded through Heartland City like a typhoon. Rain fell down hard onto the city without any care. Despite the heavy weather, Kurai ran through the rain while carrying a bundle of rope and an unconscious Yuma. He ran and ran until he spotted a warehouse in the distance by Heartland Tower.

'Looks like I'll just leave this loser here,' thought Kurai.

Kurai approached the warehouse. He put down the rope and Yuma on the ground for a moment. He made his way toward the windows to make sure no one was inside. When all seemed clear, he continued his mission. Kurai tried to open the door, but with no luck.

"Damn door's locked," he grunted. "Wha-tever, it's a good thing I never leave without my blade."

He swished out his blade and placed the tip inside the lock. After a couple picks at it, the lock broke and the door opened. Kurai pushed the door open and then picked up the rope and Yuma, and entered the warehouse.

The warehouse was dusty, despite the building still being used. Overall, it was still in good condition. Kurai didn't care about the shed, he just wanted someplace to leave Yuma. He spotted a chair in a corner. He ran over to it and placed Yuma in the chair. He took out the rope and tied it tightly around Yuma's body.

"There, that should keep Yuma here from ruining my reign," he said, checking to make sure the knot wasn't loose.

Kurai looked around the warehouse. When all seemed clear, the boy darted out of the warehouse. Before he left, he realized something. "Shoot! I better put that lock back on the door or Yuma's gonna rat on me!" He quickly locked the lock he had broken and fled.

* * *

After evading police cars and idiotic drivers, Kurai finally made it back to Yuma's house. He took a moment to take a look at the place. The Tsukumo's attic was surrounded by various treasures and trinkets. Yuma's parents had collected these trinkets from their previous expeditions.

"I guess this house will do for now," declared Kurai, "until I find Kotori, I'll crash here."

The boy changed his clothes and he hopped onto Yuma's hammock and fell asleep.

* * *

Hope moaned in pain. It was restrained by black, jelly-like tentacles. They gripped hard on it's arms and legs. The unfortunate Number monster groaned in torture. Hope was suffering through lots of unfair torture.

Black Mist just smiled cruelly at Hope's suffering. The Number's torture was entertainment for the dark spirit. "Aw, what are you going to do? Cry? You say you're a mighty Number, but you're just a weakling!" heckled Black Mist. "It'll be all over soon, when you join the dark side!"

Inside the Key's realm, Black Mist hovered over to a stone alter. He placed his hands over a giant sphere and tablet projections appeared over his palms. The dark spirit read each tablet carefully. "The time has come for you to serve me, Utopia," declared Black Mist, "By the will of the darkness, your time to serve has just begun! Now, the ritual must begin!" Black Mist began to chant in the Astral World's language.

"Chi sama shijayu haya kita reyo esru yaka detnu no kaga sulo yo ne! (Come, my dark lord, turn this pure Number into a pawn of darkness!)" chanted the black ghost.

At that moment, Hope felt shrouds of dark energy covering his body. It tried to fight back, but the energy was stronger. But, it was too late. The darkness covered Hope's entire body, ceasing any movements.

Black Mist raised his arms. "Now, come and join the darkness, Hope!" he cackled, "Serve me, your Dark Lord! I am your supreme leader!"

Thunder boomed inside the Key during Hope's painful transformation. A storm of fury blew itself throughout subspace. The time for Hope to change has just begun. A huge purplr cloud hovered over Hope. Fast as lightning, a huge flash of yellow thunder hit the Number monster. The dark energy surrounding Hope's body slipped inside it. Hope could feel itself being…. taken over by the darkness. No, no, no! How could Hope let this happen! It's a Number monster, Yuma's guardian! Yuma… The mighty monster began to think of Yuma and all the duels they've been through together. But, time doesn't wait….

Hope now served the Dark Lord, Black Mist.

Black Mist grinned at Utopia's new appearance. The once pure monster now had on a midnight black armor, symbolizing it's dark side. On the left shoulder armor bore a purple "39". Hope's eyes were now a murky purple instead of the usual red eyes. It was now a servant of darkness, no longer a pure Number monster.

The door to Hope's heart was sealed.

The Dark Number hovered over to Black Mist, who was grinning at his work. Hope was finally his!

"I expected Astral to come and try to stop me, but he's too chicken to even save you! Heck, he's even more of a wuss than I had thought!" hissed Black Mist.

The black ghost turned towards a crystal ball on the altar. Inside the ball was a moving image of Kurai wounding Yuma with his blade. This boy was a lot more efficient than the other fools that had served him before. The dark spirit watched in amusement while watching the same image of the boy scarring Yuma in the alley.

"Kurai Tsukumo, you never disappoint me. You're a lot more useful than I had expected."

* * *

**Tokunosuke: "No way! Dark Mist has Hope under his control, ura?"**

**Takashi: "To summarize, it looks like things are starting to get serious!"**

**Stardust Finex: "Yes, my friends, the story is getting darker, but fear not! Things WILL get better!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Tetsuo: "Finally! You've updated! I want to know what happens to Yuma!"**

**Akari: "Yuma better be alright!"**

**Stardust Finex: "Guys, guys, calm down! As for Yuma, I can't say any more details, but you will learn about his fate soon enough, but not here."**

* * *

**Chapter 6**

Kurai never slept so peacefully before in his life. He seemed very content at the moment while he slept in Yuma's hammock inside the attic. The sun began to shine through the stained glass windows, and the birds were singing. Nothing could shatter Kurai's sleep.

"YUMA! GET YOUR BUTT OUT OF BED! YOU'RE GOING TO BE LATE FOR SCHOOL!" boomed Yuma's sister.

Kurai fell out of the hammock at the sound of Akari's loud voice. He fell onto the floor butt first. He groaned as he rubbed his back. "Damn sister," Kurai muttered, "thinks she can tell me what to do."

Kurai off of the floor and descended into the room below. Yuma's room was neat and organized, which seemed a bit odd to the boy. Yuma's school uniform was laid onto a chair and his bed. Kurai looked at the uniform for a moment. "Am I supposed to wear this to school?" he wondered. "It's not my style, but if I want to find Kotori, guess I'll have to wear this stupid outfit."

After Kurai put on Yuma's school uniform, he grabbed his bag and made his way downstairs. He entered the kitchen and he snagged a rice ball.

Before he could leave, he was greeted by Obomi. She placed her metal hands on Kurai and adjusted his tie. "Beep, beep, Yuma, you suck. You suck."

Kurai took Obomi's 'insult' seriously and said, "Move, you stupid trash can!" he barked.

"Yuma, you suck. You suck," repeated Obomi.

Kurai lost his patience. He picked up Obomi and slung her over his shoulders. He moved over to the front door and opened it with his free hand. Once the door opened, Kurai smirked at Obomi. "Go long, you piece of scrap!"

He hurled Obomi outside the door and the robot flew into the sidewalk. The unfortunate Litterbot crashed onto the pavement and skidded along the curb until she hit the STOP sign. Kurai strolled by Obomi and mocked, "Serves you right, trash heap! How dare you disobey your future ruler? If you'll excuse me, I've got better things to do than listen to your insults!"

Kurai walked to Yuma's school in a casual way. He observed most of Heartland's citizens socializing among each other. He got a glimpse of some of the students as they were wearing the same uniform as him. The girls strolled by and Kurai couldn't help but notice how short their skirts were.

Kotori and Tetsuo walked to school together as usual, waiting for Yuma to show up on their walk. They saw 'Yuma' in the distance by the curb. Kotori then shouted, "Oy! Yuma!"

Kurai's ears perked up at the name 'Yuma.' He found the source of the voice to be… Kotori Mizuki? "Could it be?…. Is this Kotori Mizuki? She looks hotter than in her picture! It's time to make my move!"

Tetsuo jumped off of his skateboard and gave Kurai a pat on the back. "Yo, Yuma! What's up?"

Kurai responded, "Not much, man." He gazed toward Kotori. He slicked his hair spikes and approached Kotori. The girl watched Kurai sling his over her arms.  
"Hey, babe," said Kurai smoothly.

Kotori looked at Tetsuo in confusion. "Uh, Tetsuo? Did Yuma just call me 'babe'?"

"That's…. odd," responded the hefty boy. "You're not sick, are you, Yuma?"

Kurai let go of Kotori and flailed his arms. He shook nervously and said, "Me? Sick? What? No! I-I-I'll see you guys later!" Kurai made his way away from the kids. Kotori and found themselves in confusion.

"Well, that was awkward," said Tetsuo, hoping to break the silence.

0000

Later that day, before history class started, Kotori was talking to some of her friends. She was re-telling the incident from this morning.

"So, Yuma comes up to me and Tetsuo, and he's all like, 'Hey babe.' Isnt that… odd?" said Kotori.

Miyumi, a brunette, shook her head. "No, I've never heard of Yuma acting like this around any girl."

Sherry, a blonde, responded, "I can't say, but what's with Yuma?"

Kurai entered the classroom. He looked around the room to find more students socializing with each other. But he noticed the girls' skirts were really short. He wolf-whistled at Kotori, "Looking good, baby. You missed me?"

Kotori tried to make little eye contact with Kurai. "Look Yuma, I don't know why you're acting like this, but could you stop? It's starting to creep me out a bit."

Kurai growled, "Whatever you say, woman." He walked away from Kotori and he strolled to his desk and slumped in his seat.

The school bell rung, which marked the start of the second period. A young man entered the classroom with a pleasent smile on his face. He was handsome, despite looking a bit "nerdy." He wore a sophisticated purple suit, and black eyeglasses.

"Good morning everyone!" he said cheerfully.

"Good morning, Mr. Kay!" responded the class.

Mr. Kay coughed, "Now that we're all here, why don't we start history class? Ahem, Duel Monsters was created by Maximillian Pegasus…"

One hour later…

"With the help of his friends, Yugi Moto was able to defeat Bakura. Any questions?" concluded Mr. Kay.

Kurai jumped into his desk. "Good lesson and all, Mr. Kay, but I've got something more entertaining!"

"Yuma, sit down, please! Now's not the time for-"

"Screw you!" shouted Kurai. He looked around the classroom and winked at the female classmates, "Hey girls, check this out!"

Kurai loosened his tie, and unbuttoned his shirt. He let his shirt drop to the floor. His chest was revealed, along with his chest scars. Kurai was slightly more muscular than Yuma. The girls blushed at the sight of Kurai's bare chest, and some of them fainted. Mr. Kay, Tetsuo, Takashi, and Tokunosuke stared at 'Yuma' in confusion, while Kotori and Cathy blushed with the rest of the girls.

The bare chested boy jumped off of his desk and walked toward the girls. He started feeling very flirty at seeing the girls' short skirts. Kurai took off his pants and shoes and all he stood in was his boxers. The girls began to drool even more at Kurai. They swarmed around him.

"Yuma! Can I feel your abs?"

"How did you get those manly scars?"

"You're soooo fit! I've never seen a guy at school this muscular!"

Kurai flexed his arms. "Now, now, girls, there's plenty of me to go around. No need to fight over me," he said smoothly.

Mr. Kay, who now recovered from shock, grew impatient. "Does Mr. Tsukumo think he is allowed to disrupt my class? I don't think so!" He grabbed a book off of his desk and slammed it really loudly on his podium. "Girls! Sit down, now!"

Mr. Kay glared at Yuma, "And Yuma, for Pete's sake, put your shirt back on! This isn't a fashion show or gym! Principal's office, NOW!"

"Aw, party's over? That's too bad!" Kurai said sarcastically.

He put his uniform back on and winked back the girls. "Call me, you know you want me."

The girls started going crazy again at 'Yuma.' Meanwhile, Mr. Kay mentally slapped himself. "Let's go, Yuma! Now!" he barked.

He led Yuma out into the hall as they were walking down to the office. He had a confused/stern look on his face. "Yuma, what's gotten into you? You're never like this!"

* * *

**Takashi: "Okay... what the heck just happened?**

**Tetsuo: "My eyes are burning!"**

**Kotori and Cathy: "..." **

**Tokunosuke: "I'm surrounded by morons, ura." **

**Stardust Finex: "Well... anyway, leave your comments, questions, or concerns in the reviews, please!"**


	7. Chapter 7

******Stardust Finex: Here it is, Chapter 7, ahoy!**

******Kotori: Finally! What happens now? Where's Yuma?**

******Stardust Finex: *winks* Ah, good question, Kotori. You'll find out in this chapter. Keep your eyes peeled for a familiar face from the World Duel Carnival. ;)**

* * *

******UPDATE, 5/7/2012: THERE IS AN ACTIVE POLL STILL OPEN! VISIT MY PAGE TO VOTE! REMEMBER, THE POLL CLOSES FRIDAY, MAY 11! ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 7**

Darkness, that was all he had seen.

The sky wasn't blue and pleasant, and the sun was replaced by a ominous version of itself. Heartland City was in total chaos. The once happy city was now on fire, and dead bodies laid almost everywhere from the fire. Suddenly, Astral was screaming in horror. Then, all the boy's friends were frozen in time at something…..

* * *

"No, wait, what? AUUUUGGHHH!"

Yuma jolted from his sleep in nervousness and shock. He remembered everything: Kurai, him being scarred, Astral…..

"Where am I? How did I get here?" said a frantic Yuma. He realized he was held down by something. He found rope tied around his body in a chair. "Kurai! He must have taken my Key! Wait…. where's Astral?"

Yuma called, "Astral! Astral!"

The spiky-haired looked to find his Key gone, instead he found Kurai's Key on his neck. "Damn it, Kurai! First you attack me, then steal my Key! He better not have touched Astral! I can't just stand here! I gotta get out of…. wherever I am and get my Key back!" he said determined.

Yuma looked at himself. He noticed he was slightly thin because he didn't eat or drink anything due to him being unconscious for a couple days. His wound scabs fell off and now formed as permanent chest scars.

"Damn it," hissed Yuma. "Kurai will pay for what he has done to me and Astral. How the heck am I supposed to get out of here?"

Out of nowhere, a click could be heard. The click sounded like jingling for some reason. Yuma turned his head to find the warehouse's lock turning. His heart began to race in fear. "Crap! Kurai's back!" he thought. "I am SO dead!"

The door swung open, and to Yuma's surprise, a man was at the door instead. He was whistling while pulling the keys out of the lock. The man walked inside the warehouse, and he jumped at the sight of the boy in his warehouse. Something was familiar about him….

"Young man! What do you think you are you doing here in my warehouse?" inquired the man.

Yuma grunted, "Some idiot tied me up and left me here hostage! Can you get me out of here, please?" His stomach growled loudly in response, wanting to be fed.

The man came closer and he was out of the bright light. A hefty man wearing a straw hat came into Yuma's view. He was wearing a blue shirt with a tomato image, brown gloves, blue pants, along with some work boots. His eyes were squinted like Haru's. Yuma got a good look at the man. That face was very familiar…

"Yasai? What-what are you doing here? I haven't seen you since the World Duel Carnival!*" said a shocked Yuma.

Yasai knelt down. He reached into his pocket and swished a pocket blade. He began to cut the nylon rope. "Ah, long time no see, Yuma. After the World Duel Carnival, I decided to settle here in Heartland City. I gave up on the Tomato Paradise dream, but I had another dream: To grow a vegetable garden!  
I built a greenhouse near Heartland Farms to start my garden business, and it has been very successful! People all over Heartland love my tomatoes-"

Yuma yawned, "Great story, Yasai, but can I eat first? I'm starving!"

"Hold on, Yuma, I'm almost done with this here rope," said the farmer.

The blade cut through the final part of the nylon rope. The rope fell off of Yuma's body. Yuma stretched from his chair. It felt great to be out of that chair after being rope bound. He then bowed to Yasai. "Thank you, Yasai! I owe you one!"

Yasai grinned in response. "Hey, it's no problem! All I want from you is another duel some day! Don't forget that! Before you go, take a tomato with you!" He reached into his basket of vegetables and pulled out a round tomato. He tossed it to Yuma, "I wish you the best, Yuma! Tell Kotori I said hi!"

"Will do!" called Yuma as he ran out of the warehouse.

* * *

Later that night, Yuma decided to call it a night. He wandered to Heartland Park and looked around. A park bench sat in the distance under a lush green tree. Yuma shrugged, "It's not a bed, but it's better than the sand," he decided. The boy plopped himself on the bench and settled himself. Before he fell asleep, Yuma looked at Kurai's Key on his neck. It wasn't his own Key, but it reminded him of the pain Kurai had caused him…

"Kurai…. What are you exactly?" wondered Yuma, "why are you here? What have you done to Astral…."

Yuma slowly felt his eyes give in to tiredness. The starry sky surrounded him as he finally retired for the night.

A pink-orange haired girl flew over the park. For some reason, she was flying on a strange portable aircraft. The park was coming into her bird's-eye-view. However, what had caught the girl's attention was a familiar boy sleeping on a bench. Despite his…. different clothimg style, she gasped, "Is that who I think it is? Could that be Yuma Tsukumo?"

The girl maneuvered her jet/cannon toward the park for a landing. She carefully lowered her aircraft onto the ground without any noise whatsoever. Of course, as usual, the girl started to lose a little control of the aircraft. She landed in the sand, facedown. The aircraft landed nose-first by her. Not amused, the now pissed-off girl spat sand out of her mouth and brushed it off of her face.

"Grrrr! Where's Yuma Tsukumo? I know I saw him around here on a bench!" she growled.

The girl's question was quickly answered when she found a boy sleeping on the said bench. He was lying sideways on the bench, sleeping like a baby. The girl laughed at the sight of Yuma sucking his thumb.

"Mmm…. Chocolate rice balls…" muttered Yuma, "really, Granny? I can have more? Why, thank you.."

"Heh heh, Yuma Tsukumo, you're so cute when you sleep. But, I can't leave you out here, I think I'll take you with me," whispered the girl.

* * *

The sun's bright lights shine brightly through the blinds. It was like as if they were fighting their say into the bedroom. For some reason, Yuma could feel an essence of warmth in his sleep.  
His eyes started to slowly open, gathering as much light as possible for sight.

"Ugh… What did I eat last night? Oh yeah, I had that tomato…" moaned an exhausted Yuma. The boy looked around his surroundings. He was in a bedroom, but it appeared to have a log-cabin appearance. Overall, it looked like the typical bedroom. A confused expression spread on Yuma's face. "Huh? How did I get here? Where am I? I thought I was at the park last night."

"Good morning, Master Yuma."

Yuma jumped at the voice. It sounded metallic. Something was familiar about that voice… To his surprise, a Litterbot entered Yuma's room with a tray of riceballs and juice. It was the typical model of a Litterbot, which reminded Yuma so much of Obomi, because he had a bow on his chassis. What was different was that this Litterblt had a masculine voice. The robot extended its arms and placed the tray in Yuma's lap. "I am Litterbot Number 19-96, but you may call me 'Rob.' Enjoy your breakfast, Master Yuma. If you need anything, call me."

"I think that's enough, Rob," said a female voice.

A girl entered Yuma's room. She wore a pink-white top with a skirt, black leggings, and pink futuristic-like boots. Her eyes were a bold yellow and her hair colors, pink and orange, stood out. Yuma immediately recognized this girl.

"Anna Kozuki?" he said surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The said girl gave a small laugh, "Ah, if it isn't Yuma Tsukumo!"

Yuma looked at Anna. "How did I get here? Why am I in a log cabin?"

"I live here," replied Anna. "Make yourself at home, Yuma. You and Rob already met, right?" she said, gesturing to the Litterbot.

Yuma nodded. "Yeah, Rob reminds me of Obomi."

Anna nodded, "Ah, well, my parents don't mind you staying here. Until then, why don't you tell me why you were at that park?"

* * *

"WHAT? There's ANOTHER you?" Anna shrieked loudly, the whole house could her hear.

Yuma jumped at how loud Anna's voice was. None the less, he replied, "Yeah, his name is Kurai, and he has the same last name as me. He left me in Yasai's warehouse tied in a chair to die," he replied angrily, not very happy about Kurai.

The pink haired girl clenched her fists. Anna growled, "Does this Kurai Tsukumo think he can mess with MY Yuma? I don't think so! That jerk, when I see his face, I'm gonna kick his-"

"Wait a minute, Anna!" cried Yuma, holding up his hands, "I don't even know where Kurai is now! He could be anywhere around Heartland City! How did you know it was me, and not Kurai on the park bench? We both look EXACTLY the same."

Anna unclenched her fists. "Hmph. So I see, Kurai looks EXACTLY like you, but isn't there a way to tell you two apart?"

"Kurai stole my clothes and my Key, so he's probably wearing them! He put on his clothes on ME!" said Yuma gesturing to the clothes on a chair.

Suddenly, Rob started beeping. His optics glowed blue and his head turned and turned. "Master Anna, you might want to see this!" he said monotonously.

Rob projected a video from Heartland news. What Yuma and Anna had seen was frightening.

On the screen was a video of a mysterious boy breaking a glass case containing a rare card. He destroyed the case with no problem. He snagged the card and suddenly, a dark blur surrounded his body and he dissipated from the scene.

"Once again, that was the footage from Heartland Museum. A rare Duel Monsters card was stolen last night by a boy. Security footage shows that the boy was accompanied by a mysterious dark blur…." blared the news reporter, while reading the papers on her desk. "The footage could not get a image of the thief's face, but it did capture that the thief was wearing an oddly-shaped pendant."

An image of the strange pendant was broadcasted onto the news screen. The results were shocking to Yuma and Anna.

"No. Way! That's the Emperor's Key!" cried Yuma.

The news reporter continued, "If you have seen anyone wear this pendent, call the nearest authorities IMMEDIATELY, before he commits another card stealing spree! I am Tasuku Tanaka**, and this concludes our story. Elijah James***? What do you have?"

Ron shut down his projector and said, "I hope this was useful to you, Master Anna." With that, Rob wheeled out of Yuma's temporary room.

Yuma and Anna slowly turned to the side and stared at each other. Silence filled the room for a moment, before Anna said, "Is that who I think it was?"

"Yeah," growled Yuma, "it was Kurai. Who is that dark blur with him? Why is- Wait….. No! No! It can't be!" flailed the boy.

"Who? What are you talking about?" cried Anna.

"It….. It's Black Mist," Yuma said hoarsely. "He's with Kurai…"

* * *

*See episode 30 of Zexal. You know, the one about tomatoes?  
** The new's reporter's name is a reference to Tasuku Hatanaka, Yuma's Japanese voice actor!  
*** A reference to Eli Jay, Yuma's English dub actor!

* * *

**Stardust Finex: Looks like trouble is brewing for Yuma! What will happen next? **

**Takashi: Don't give us any spoilers!**

**Stardust Finex: *laughs* Relax, the story is just getting even better!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Stardust Finex: Greetings, today, I present to you: Chapter 8! :D**

**Dark Mist: Yes, interesting, but can we get on with the story?**

**Stardust Finex: Chill out, Dark Mist.**

* * *

**REMINDER! (Sorry if I'm being a pessimist) There is STILL an open poll! Visit my page to vote! Don't forget, the poll closes this FRIDAY, MAY 11! Happy voting! ;)**

* * *

**Chapter 8**

Akari growled angrily at the computer monitor. The lavender-haired woman was not very pleased at the moment. She slammed her fist on the table. "Damn it! Marc Thomas* got the scoop about the card robbery before I did! That was gonna be MY story!" Akari groaned as she dropped her head onto her desk.

Haru noticed her granddaughter had her head down. Worried, the little old lady wandered over to Akari. "Dear, are you alright? You don't seem so well," she said, placing a hand on Akari's shoulder.

Akari shot up from her desk. She groaned, "There was an update on that museum robbery and Marc Thomas beat me to it! You know, a LOT of things have been happening around Heartland because of that crook. Whenever he commits a crime, a shadow always surrounds him and he like, instantly vanishes!"

The Holo-TV then blared, "We bring you an update on the museum robbery, live with Bekah Harris."

The said woman on the screen smiled. "Ah, thank you, Elijah. As of today, museum officials have released more footage of the crime from last night. The security footage doesn't have any good quality, but we were able to get an image of a strange pendent the thief was wearing," said Bekah.

An image of the thief's pendant came onto the screen. Akari and Haru gasped at the picture.

"YUMA?" shouted both women in shock.

"As you can see, the thief was seen wearing this necklace at the time of the crime last night. If you have seen a boy wearing a pendant like this one, call the nearest authorities NOW, before he commits another robbery! I'm Bekah Harris, and this is Heartland City News."

Kurai wedged through the attic window. Getting in and out of the window was not easy as he had expected. Hey, if you're commuting a heist, it's worth going through the trouble. The boy struggled to squeeze through, because it was small. He grunted, "Come on, stupid piece of glass! Open already!" Suddenly, the window snapped and whopped him, right in the butt. The boy felt his butt sting from the glass pressing against him.

"OWWW! GOD DAMMIT! THAT ******* HURT!" screamed Kurai. After some struggle, he finally fell through the window and fell onto the floor. "Ugh, damn window…" Kurai groaned, "at least it was worth getting my ass  
whopped for a rare card."

Kurai searched through his pocket an pulled out the card he had stolen from Heartland City Muesuem*. The card was not just any ordinary Duel Monsters card, but a Number Card. "Number 2: BioDragon," he read. "What exactly can this Number do anyway?"

Suddenly, pounding feet could be heard below. Kurai realized who was coming. "Crap! That old lady and the devil woman must have heard me when that window whopped my ass! Shoot! What the hell am I-"

Akari poked her head through the attic stairs. She had a concerned look on her face. "Yuma, you have a LOT of explaining to do, young man! Why was YOUR Key on the TV?"

Her silence showed she wanted an answer.

"Well?" snapped Akari, tapping her foot.

Kurai tried to process what to say. He realized his cover had been blown. Quickly, he thought of a plan.

"Well, you see," his eyes gazed toward the windows, "I…. uhhh… gotta go, lady! Catch you later!"

The lavender-haired woman looked at her brother in confusion as he shifted towards the window. She said, "Yuma, what do you think you're doing? Get back here, RIGHT NOW!"

Kurai turned around. He stuck his tongue at Akari. "Not a chance!"

The boy took a great leap towards the window, and millions of shards of glass spewed onto the ground as he crashed through. Kurai rolled onto the roof like a ball. He felt a little queasy from the rolling. He crashed into the garden below. "Not good! I can't be here anymore! I know what I must do now!" He quickly got up from the ground and quickly ran off towards the streets.

Akari watched her brother run away from the shattered attic window. "YUMA!" she shouted. She grabbed a pair of shoes and carefully made her way over the broken glass. She frantically looked over the roof, hoping to find her brother.

"Rrghh! Where did Yuma go off too? All I did was ask him ONE question and he just goes off and crashes through a window!" cried Akari.

Suddenly, Haru ran up into the attic frantically, with Obomi following the small lady. "Dear, I heard a crash! What was that awful noise? It sounded like something was breaking!"

Akari shifted towards Haru, tears were streamed all over her face. "Yuma ran off!" she said, controlling her tears. "Ever since he caused trouble in school last week**, he's always been disappearing!"

Kurai ran and ran through the streets, guided by the lamp posts. He kept running for a while. His mind was racing, processing everything. "Stupid woman! She blew my cover! I guess it's time for phase two of my plan to start now!"

Meanwhile…..  
Kotori was in her room, reading a magazine. She noticed it was getting a little dark in her room. She set her magazine on her bed, and walked towards the switch to her ceiling lights. As she made her way towards the switch, she heard a knock on her window.

"Huh? Who could that be?" wondered Kotori.

She opened her window, only to find nothing there. "That's odd, I swore I heard SOMETHING."

Suddenly, Kotori smelled a foul odor from outside. She held her nose. "Ugh! What the heck is that? It smells horrible!" For some reason, she felt really sleepy. Her eyes started to close as she fell onto the floor.

Kurai climbed through Kotori's window, and made his way into Kotori's room. He put his sleeping chemicals away and reached into his pockets. In his hand was a rock the size of a baseball. Just to be sure Kotori was out, Kurai hurled the baseball-sized rock at the girl.

She didn't move an inch.

Kurai breathed a sigh of relief. "There, you're finally mine, Kotori Mizuki," said the boy. He carefully slung an unconscious Kotori over his shoulders as he made his way out of Kotori's bedroom window.

Once Kurai was on the ground, he ran towards a bush. He reached into it and a burlap sack was pulled out of the bush. He carefully placed Kotori inside the burlap sack, and cut an airhole on the bag. He slung the bag over his shoulders, and darted towards the heart of Heartland City: Heartland Tower.

* * *

*** Marc Thomas is a reference to Marc Thompson, Astral's English dub voice actor!**

**** Kurai had robbed the museum during the time when Yuma was sleeping on the park bench last chapter.**

***** See Chapter 6.**

* * *

**Stardust Finex: Yes, my friends, Kurai finally has Kotori, or does he?**

**Yuma: Huh? Kurai what?**

**Anna: Yuma, we'll get her back! **

**Yuma: I hope so!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Stardust Finex: Hello everybody! I have a new chapter, just for you! ;) Things are gonna get a little more serious now, I can't say anymore. Read on and you'll see what I mean!**

* * *

**Chapter 9**

If there was anything Droite did not like, it was Gauche sleeping on the job. The Butterfly Duelist watched her red-headed partner doze off on the ground while she was guarding thier bosses, Mr. Heartland and Dr. Faker's, office. Gauche seemed to be relaxed as he snored loudly while snoozing.

"Droite… Are those kids high again…." Gauche muttered in his sleep. The man shifted from the right side to the left and continued to snore loudly.

Droite sighed and mentally slapped herself, "I'm surrounded by morons," she thought. She then noticed Gauche was starting to drool. "Ugh," she said, not satisfied by her partner's 'work.'

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Gauche suddenly felt his sleep shatter as he jumped at the sound of the noise. "Huh? Wha? Droite, what was that sound?" he said in a sleepy tone.

"I'm not sure, we better go see what it is," replied Droite monotonously, "and wake up, you're NOT in bed. We've got work to do."

Gauche stretched and yawned, "Ah, you always spoil everything."

The two adults scurried down the hallway. They descended into the elevator to ground level. Quickly, they ran to the front door. The knocking was still going on.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

"Alright, we're coming! Quit banging on the stupid door!" snapped an irritated Droite. She grabbed the door handle and angrily swung it open. "What do you-"

BAM!

Droite tumbled backwards as she had received a nasty punch in the face for a greeting. Gauche quickly moved to Droite's side and caught her before she fell onto the ground. He worriedly examined Droite's wound. A small bruise was starting to form around her left eye. The woman felt herself going unconscious, and she slowly lowered her head into Gauche's chest.

Gauche, on the other hand, felt his anger boil. He carefully set Droite by a column, then he matched angrily towards the front door. He swung the door open, and to his surprise, who he had found was….

"Yuma?" shouted a surprised Gauche. He pointed his finger angrily towards the boy, while noticing he had a sack slung over his shoulder. "What the hell was that for? You like to hit women for fun now? Droite didn't deserve to be hit by a punk like you!"

Kurai shrugged sarcastically. "Tsk, Tsk, Gauche, you never learn, do you? Droite is simply a lowly worm, compared to you. You, on the other hand, are an even bigger worm than I had expected." The boy's back faced Gauche as he turned around. He carefully reached into his front jacket pockets as he slowly placed a syringe inside it.

Gauche took a step forward towards Kurai. "And just what do you think you're doing? If you even think of leaving, don't count on it!"

"Why don't we settle this with a duel?" proposed Kurai. He carefully set down his burlap sack behind him, making sure his 'cargo' wasn't damaged. He faced Gauche with an expression unfamiliar to the red-headed man.

"Let's duel, Gauche. I'm ready when you are," said Kurai, readying his D-Pad.

Gauche growled in response. He readied his D-Pad as well. "You'll pay for hurting Droite in the first place, Yuma."

"DUEL!" shouted both males.

"DUEL GAZER, SET!"

Gauche's eye changed as a red D-Gazer tattoo formed around his left eye, changing his purple eye color to a murky yellow color.

To Gauche's surprise, a yellow D-Gazer tattoo formed around his opponent's eye, which changed his pure red eye to a emerald green color.

"Since when did Yuma get a D-Gazer tattoo? That doesn't seem right!" thought Gauche. "But, I can't be worrying about that! I'm doing this for Droite!"

Kurai then said, "Let me show you what I'm made of!"

"D-PAD, SET!"

"AUGMENTED REALITY VISION LINK ESTABLISHED," said a computer-generated voice.

Now, Kurai and Gauche stared at each other as they readied their decks for the duel. Gauche scowled at the boy in front of him. "Droite, I… I will beat Yuma for you!"

Kurai, on the other hand, smirked. "Does this man honestly think he can beat me? Well, I'll have to prove him wrong, thanks to this Number card! Let's see what this baby can do!"

Both Duelists were now ready for the duel to begin.

"DUEL!" shouted Kurai and Gauche.

* * *

"AUUUGGGGHHH!"

Gauche landed on the ground with a THUD after Kurai's monster had directly attacked him. He groaned in defeat as the augmented reality disintegrated, which made his D-Gazer tattoo disintegrate as well.

"Ha ha ha! You call yourself a Duelist? Your Heroic Champion Excalibur could barely even touch my Number!" mocked Kurai. He reached into his deck and pulled out a black Duel Monsters card. "Once per turn, my monster can discard one of it's own Overlay units and steal half of ALL of your monsters' attack points!"

Kurai slowly approached Gauche as he carefully reached into his back pocket, only to reveal a tiny needle in his hand behind his back.

The beefy man growled as he struggled to stand up due to how rough 'Yuma' was to him during their duel. "You may have hurt Droite, but that doesn't mean that I can't-"

"You'll what? Hurt me? Oh, I'm so scared! What are you gonna do? Squirt me with a water gun?" jeered Kurai.

Gauche immediately lost his temper. That boy had teased him enough! It was about time he learned that hitting Droite wasn't fine! "Shut the hell up, Yuma! I thought you were better than this, but look at yourself! You're just a delinquent, a freak!" he snapped, placing a lot of emphasis on 'freak.'

Suddenly, Kurai became very enraged. His mind started racing.

* * *

Images of kids teasing and taunting Kurai flashed in his mind. They all pointed at him as they all shouted to him:

"Freak!"

"What a stain!"

* * *

Back in the real world, Gauche noticed something about 'Yuma' was different about him. The boy in front of him had his back facing him. He could see that 'Yuma' was clenching his fists angrily and he could hear growling. Gauche slowly took a step forward as he held his arm out.

"Y-Yuma?" he said nervously.

Kurai turned around and he appeared very enraged. His eyes were even more dilated with anger than before. Some of his teeth became partially sharp, which made Gauche slightly frightened.

"No one calls me a freak! No one! You idiot, you'll be sorry you ever called me a freak!" snapped a furious Kurai.

The boy ran right into Gauche and knocked him onto the ground. Gauche trie to fight back, but 'Yuma' was stronger than him, which was unusual to him.

"Yuma! Stop this!" said Gauche, as he was attempting to pry 'Yuma' off of his body.

Kurai forcibly held down Gauche's head with one hand as he used his other hand to reach into his pocket. He pulled out a syringe, and it was very sharp like any typical needle.

Gauche looked at the needle above him. "What are you doing? You little-" Suddenly, Gauche felt 'Yuma' jab the syringe into his neck. Slowly, the man started to lose consciousness, and he couldn't even keep his eyes open. Finally, he blacked out.

Kurai stood above his target as he tossed his syringe to the side. He smirked at the unconscious Gauche. "Heh, three targets in one day, this just keeps getting better and better," he said, as he started tying up Gauche.

Meanwhile, in Heartland Tower…..

Kaito watched Haruto sleep in his bed. The little blue-haired boy slept peacefully, which made Kaito a little sad. The World Duel Carnival was a failure, because not many Number Cards were retrieved. The Tron family were never seen again after the events of the WDC. There were so many questions Kaito wanted to ask V….

"KAITO-SAMA!" shouted a metallic voice, shattering Kaito's thoughts.

Kaito turned around from Haruto's bed impatiently and he stated at the source of the voice. "Can you be a little quieter, Orbital 7? Haruto's trying to sleep!"

Orbital 7 started flailing his robotic appendages. "I'm sorry, Kaito-sama! You have to see this security footage! It's really important!

"Roll the clip," ordered Kaito, impatiently tapping his feet.

"Yes, Kaito-sama, I'll get to it right away!" responded the obedient robot. Orbital 7 wheeled over to a nearby computer. Plugs extended from his chassis as they plugged themselves into the machine. Orbital sat himself in front of the computer and began to hack into Heartland Tower's security footage. A few minutes later, the break-in was successful.

"And now… Where are the security videos… A-ha! I found it, Kaito-sama!" cheered Orbital 7.

Kaito stood behind his robot with his arms crossed. A small smile spread on his face. "Thank you, Orbital 7, nice work."

Orbital turned around from his seat in surprise. "You mean it, Kaito-sama?"

Kaito nodded. "I do," responded the blonde.

The robot immediately went back to work. "Thank you, Kaito-sama! You will not be disappointed!" His robotic fingers opened as tiny cords came out and started typing rapidly on the keyboard. "Kaito-sama, I found the security video! Rolling the footage now!" declared Orbital 7.

A projected emerged from Orbital's chassis. Cables extended itself out of the chassis as well as it snaked into the computer. Suddenly, a video booted up from Orbital 7's chassis and started to roll.

Kaito watched the security tape intensely as Droite and Gauche were seen in the tape heading toward the door. Suddenly, Droite was hit in the face and fell uncovious.

"Droite!" shouted a concerned Kaito.

Then, Gauche looked like he was arguing with someone. At first, Kaito couldn't figure out who Gauche was talking to. Oribital quickly fast-forwarded the tape to the point when the assasilant held up an all-faniliar card.

"A Number card?" said Kaito.

The tape then cut to when the mysterious figure jabbed a syringe into Gauche's neck. As the man fell unconscious, the assasilant's face could be seen. He zoomed in on the tape, and Kaito was very surprised.

"Yuma?" Kaito shouted, "w-w-what's he doing here?" He turned to Orbital, "Can you track his location in Heartland Tower," he said in a worried tone, drifting his eyes to a sleeping Haruto.

"Of course, Master," responded Orbital. His optics blinked for a few seconds, and a huge map projected from the optics. The map had the entire floor plan of Heartland Tower. Kaito was concerned about a moving blinking red dot on the screen. He then said, "Orbital, zoom in on that red dot."

The robot did what he was told. He extended his arms and tapped the dot on the screen. A live feed of 'Yuma' wandering through one of Heartland Tower's many floors had caught Kaito's attention. An unconscious Droite and Gauche were tied up together and trailing behind him, along with a oddly-shaped burlap sack slung over the boy's shoulders.

Kaito turned away from the screen. He gazed upon Haruto, who was still sound asleep. "I've seen enough, Orbital 7," he said in a solemn tone.

"Yes, Kaito-sama!" chirped Orbital.

The security map shut down as Orbital 7's plugs detached from the computer and went back inside his chassis. He then wheeled towards his human master. "Is everything alright, Kaito-sama?"

Kaito looked at Orbital 7 solemnly. "No, it's not safe for Haruto to be here anymore if Yuma's going to attack Mr. Heartland or Dr. Faker. He could find Haruto and try to drug him! I won't allow it! Orbital 7, pack your bags, we're leaving," he boldly declared, still gazing at Haruto.

Orbital 7 wasn't sure at first, but none the less, he would still obey his master. "Yes, Kaito-sama! Right away, but where are we going?"

Kaito walked over to the window south of Orbital 7. He gestured for the robot to come to him, and Orbital did so. The boy gazed outside of Heartland City's barrier at a mountain in the back. "Kappa Forest, Orbital, our cabin is still there. Until Yuma is done harassing everyone here, we'll stay over there."

* * *

Later that same evening, as the sun began to set, Kaito sadly looked back at Heartland Tower as he carefully held Haruto tightly in his arms, never letting go.

* * *

**Stardust Finex: And that wraps up chapter 9! Next time, Kurai encounters Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland! What will happen? Will Yuma stop Kurai? What exactly is Black Mist planning to do with a tainted Hope?*All will be revealed next time in: _The Shadow of Yuma._**

* * *

***See Chapter 5.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hey guys! Sorry this took so long! Enough with the chit-chat! Let Chapter 10 commence!**

***New poll now open on my page!***

* * *

**Chapter 10**

A boy smirked at a ropebound Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland. The adults were tied together and their mouths were covered by scarves. Both men were exhausted, hurt, and beaten. Not long ago, the same boy infiltrated their office. He had beaten up both of them and tied them up. The boy smiled evilly at the adults, carefully slipping his hand into his right back pants pocket. He then stood in front of Mr. Heartland. The teen lowered himself to Mr. H's eye view so he could make eye contact. The boy lowered the scarf covering Mr. H's mouth so the green-headed man could speak.

"Ah, if it isn't Mr. H and Dr. Faker," said the boy smoothly, "I've heard that you have a rare treasure in your possession, am I wrong?"

Mr. H tried to wriggle his wrists out of the rope while he spoke, "Yuma, what the hell are you talking about? Let us go this instant!"

"What is he even talking about?" said Dr. Faker.

Kurai grinned evilly, "Yes, do tell, why don't you?"

Mr. Heartland kept loosening his rope-bound wrists as he glared at Yuma. "You think I would tell a little brat like YOU?"

Kurai sighed cooly. He spun around to be face-to-face with Mr. Heartland. "Ah, Mr. Heartland, you say Number cards are valuable to you and Dr. Faker. However, I believe that those Numbers will all be gone."

"What do you mean, by gone?" spat the man. "These Numbers aren't going anywhere!"

"Oh, that's what you think."

Kurai walked over to the machine containing Number Cards casually. He curiously started at all of the Numbers. He placed his hand on the machine and the bubble holding all of the Numbers disintegrated.

"What do you think you're doing, boy? Keep your lousy hands off of those Numbers!" said Dr. Faker, struggling to speak through the scarf around his mouth.

The man should've stayed quiet, because, at that moment, Kurai whipped out a lighter. The boy smirked as he turned on the lighter. He proceeded to pick up a Number card as he held it a few inches away from the lighter's flame. Both men's eyes grew wide at the sight of the fire. Kurai saw the looks on their faces and simply smiled evilly.

"Now then, why don't we try this again? Give me Heartland City's rare treasure, or else-" said Kurai.

"Or else what?" interrupted Dr. Faker.

Kurai gazed towards the Number Cards. "I'll burn each and every one of your precious Number Cards," he hissed. The boy then spat, "Unless you want your Numbers gone, I suggest you tell me where Heartland's treasure is at!"

Mr. Heartland gulped uneasily. The thought of all of his and Dr. Faker's Numbers being destroyed would cost him. Those cards were not easy to get especially since he and Faker had Kaito retrieve the Numbers for them. It was either risk it all or get beaten even more. He turned towards Dr. Faker with an expression of retreat. The blond-haired scientist looked back solemnly. Faker reluctantly shook his head in approval.

The mayor of Heartland City shifted towards Kurai and said, "Fine, you can have the artifact, just leave the Numbers alone!"

"Heh, I knew you would talk eventually," said Kurai. He turned off his lighter and put it away before asking, "By the way, don't even think of trying to escape. You are going to tell me where exactly the artifact is. If I untie you, you're simply jut going to make a run for it. Did you really think I'd be stupid enough to untie you to show me the artifact? I don't think so."

"Curses!" Dr. Faker whispered to Mr. H, "that Tsukumo boy is smarter than we had thought!"

Mr. Heartland gazed at Kurai. "Yuma, if you want Heartland City's artifact, look in that safe over there in that device," he said, indicating the Number Card machine.

Kurai smiled in success mischievously. He turned towards the device and carefully prayed it open. In front of him laid a steel safe. Of course, it was locked. None the less, Kurai simply stated, "Do you think a puny lock can stop me? Well, it's a good thing I never go anywhere without this baby."

He quickly whipped out a blade, which slightly intimidated Mr. H and Faker, due to the blade's sharpness. He carefully wedged the tip of the blade around the lock and started to pick behind it. Suddenly, the all familiar "click" souks could be heard from the safe. Kurai pried the door open and tore it off of the hinges. He stared at the treasure inside in awe. A beautiful diamond encrusted scepter with a heart-shaped gem shone luminously in the room. It sat on a petite pillow, since it was Heartland City's rarest possession. A plaque was engraved above it. It read, "The Diamond Heart." The jewel was the symbol of the leader of Heartland City, and it was now in Kurai's hands.

Kurai snagged the Diamond Heart out of the safe. He held it tightly as he turned towards the ropebound Faker and Mr. H. He stood in front of both men and stooped down to their eye level. "Now then, since you both were so cooperative, I think you two will have some 'fun' with some other idiots like you!" The boy dashed over to the door leading to the hallway. He quickly dragged in a ropebound Droite and Gauche. Both the man and the woman were unconscious. Mr. Heartland and Faker watched intensely as 'Yuma' approached them and yanked them by the end of a rope towards the other group.

"You're next," said Kurai menacingly.

Dr. Faker and Mr. Heartland stated at what 'Yuma' had whipped out in horror. The boy was holding a syringe, and they could see a liquid-type drug inside it. Both men braced themselves as 'Yuma' casually approached them with a syringe in his hand.

"Nighty-night, I hope you enjoyed ruling Heartland City because it's mine now!" shouted Kurai.

With that, Kurai revealed another syringe. He jammed both syringes into Dr. Faker and Mr. H's necks. He held both adults down by the head they struggled to free themselves. However, Kurai was stronger than the men, so he was able to keep them down. Finally, Dr. Faker and Mr. H felt themselves getting extremely tired, their bodies started to slow down, and they blacked out. The boy carefully laid their heads down onto the ground as they fell unconscious. He ejected the syringes from their necks carefully.

Kurai stared at his captives all on the ground: Droite, Gauche, Mr. H, and Faker. He sneered, "All too easy, these lowly worms don't stand a chance against me. Did they really think that they could stop me? How pathetic are these losers?"

* * *

Once again, Kurai ended up having to drag four ropebound adults and a sack with a 'mysterious shape'* down the hallway to the elevator. He swore that they were so heavy, his arms could fall off. He then reached the elevator, and ascended to the very top of Heartland Tower.

The sky was dark as the sun had gone down, and the moon's light shone all over Heartland City. The inhabitants below were out having their own fun and various activities. Little did they know that their time of happiness would be halted. Kurai loomed over the entire city of Heartland as he stood on the top of Heartland Tower. He looked around his surroundings as he watched the people below.

"Heh, enjoy your happy times, Heartland City, 'cause this king's got bigger plans for this world!" declared Kurai.

* * *

Droite heard groaning, and it was not pleasant. The Butterfly-deck user slowly opened her eyes as she came to. At first, all she could see we're three figures, but they were blurry for some reason. The only blurry figure she could recognize was a familiar man because of his pure red hair. The man gazed towards her on response.

"Droite?" he said in surprise. "You're alright!"

"G-G… Gauche?" sputtered the said woman. "What happened?….. The last thing I remember was a boy…"

"That's enough, Droite!" snapped Faker. "Take a look what that brat Yuma placed us into!"

Mr. Heartland slowly crawled over to the cage sides to find himself… dangling? What? How can that be? Unless…..

Mr. Heartland placed his hands around steel bars. He looked through the bars to only face the dark sky and part of Heartland City below him. He easily gulped, due to his slight fear of heights.

It all added up. The group was held for dead inside a dangling cage. The metal prison was shaped like a rectangle. It easily swung side to side.

"What the hell? What did you do this time, Faker?" shouted a shocked Mr. H.

"You moron! That idiot Yuma Tsukumo must have drugged us and threw us in this cage with these two buffoons!" snapped Dr. Faker, pointing towards Droite and Gauche. He then took a moment to study the cage surroundings. "Judging by the looks of this dangling cage, it could collapse since it has a lot of weight, and I mean us, inside it!"

"But where exactly is this cage hanging from?" piped up Gauche.

Mr. Heartland pointed outside the hard on his side. "Yuma left us here to hang on Heartland Tower to die! When I get out of here, I am going to hurt him so much, I swear-"

SLAP!

Mr. H felt his cheek stinging as he watched Droite carefully stand in front of the greenette. Droite looked even angrier than usual.

"Look, Mr. Heartland, either we get out of here, or we die. Your descicion," hissed Droite.

* * *

Kurai carefully untied the ribbon around his sack. Slowly, he lowered the sack to reveal a sleeping Kotori inside. The girl was sound asleep, and she had her arms laid across her chest. Kurai carefully stroked Kotori's shoulders. She was so beautiful, he knew that she would be the perfect queen for him. "You are such an angel, only if all other girls could be like you," he said smoothly.

Suddenly, Kotori's eyes started to open. She moaned as she sat up. The last thing she remembered was that she was at home, then this awful stench came into her room, and that was all she could think of. The surroundings became familiar to her. Heartland City shone below her as she looked over the side of Heartland Tower. Her eyes stared at the blurry figure holding her. Her mind processed who that boy was.

Suddenly, realization hit Kotori. Yuma's shape matched the same shape at her bedroom window! HE must have been the one that sprayed that awful odor in her face!

"Yuma!" hissed Kotori, "what the hell did you do? Why did you even bring me here?"

'Yuma' gazed at Kotori, but in a way that made Kotori feel uncomfortable.

"Oh, Kotori, you are so clueless. You still think that I'm Yuma?" said Kurai. He placed his thumb under Kotori's chin.

Kotori pushed away Kurai's hand and she crossed her arms. "What the heck is that supposed to mean, Yuma? Make up your mind!"

"Babe, I'm just gonna cut to the chase. You and your friends are so stupid enough to think that I'm Yuma. You all fell for it," said Kurai.

Kurai took off his jacket and let it drop to the ground. He closed his eyes and shouted loud enough for Heartland City to her.

**"ALL HAIL THE KING, BABY!"**

Kurai ripped his shirt off, and his chest was revealed, showing his chest scars and Number tattoo. Yuma's Key hung around his neck as it swung from side to side. Kurai's Number tattoo began to glow a dark purple on his abdomen.

Kotori stared at Kurai in complete shock. She immediately realized that this boy was clearly NOT Yuma. His general appearance differed greatly from Yuma. She stared at Kurai's chest scars. An all familiar symbol rested below his scars, much to Kotori's surprise: **A dark purple Number"96."** The boy's eyes appeared to have an "evil" look to them. Some of Kurai's teeth became sharp as well.

Kurai turned towards Kotori as he raised the Diamond Heart. His Number Tattoo glowed even brighter as he in the luminous moonlight.

"I never introduced myself. I am** Kurai Tsukumo**, king of Heartland City!"

* * *

**What does Kurai have up his sleeves? Will Yuma arrive in time to stop Kurai? What has happened to Astral? Stay tuned next time for _The Shadow of_**** Yuma**!


	11. Chapter 11

**At last, another update! Yay! Sorry to keep you all waiting! ;) Things are going to get alittle serious this chapter! *wink***

* * *

**Chapter 11**

Kotori stared at Kurai in total shock. Standing in front of her was ANOTHER Yuma! Could this boy have been an imposter? Why was he doing this? What was his motive? All of these questions wandered in Kotori's mind. Right now, her mind was trying to process the fact that this boy was clearly** NOT** Yuma.

Kotori snapped out of her thoughts. She focused on the boy standing in front of her. In his hands was the Diamond Heart, Heartland City's royal artifact and symbol of office. Somehow, the boy had the Diamond Heart in his possession. All that mattered was that Kotori had to get out of here!

The green-haired girl confidently took a step forward at Kurai. She placed her hands at her hips and put her face close to his. "Listen, Kurai! Where is Yuma? What did you do with him?" she snapped.

"You really think I'd tell you? You belong to me, babe," replied Kurai. He spun the Diamond Heart for a moment. "Besides, why should a pretty girl like you leave already? I'm just getting warmed up! As king of Heartland City, I say that you stay where you are!" he barked.

Kotori flustered for a moment. "Shut up! I **DO NOT** belong to you! You just came to my house and kidnapped me! You think I'd want to spend the rest of my life with a freak like you? Well, forget it!"

With that, she huffed and proceeded to descend into Heartland Tower. Before Kotori could leave, Kura grabbed her roughly by her arms and pulled her neck! The boy's hands clamped over Kotori's mouth. "Umph!" muffled Kotori. The girl flailed her arms and hit Kurai in the chest. He trembled for a moment as Kotori attempted to sprint, but the boy recovered quickly and he tackled the girl, knocking her onto the ground. Kotori tried not to look at Kurai, but her head was forced to. She nervously looked at Kurai, who was hovering above her. Her heart raced in fear and confusion.

Kurai pulled out a box and whipped out a gold ring with a diamond. He smiled at Kotori as he grabbed her right hand and attempted to force the ring onto her third index finger.

"What the hell are you doing?" spat Kotori.

Kurai stopped forcing the ring onto his target's hand for a moment. The bad boy stared into Kotori's eyes. "Simple, you're going to be my queen and no one else's!"

Kotori struggled to pry her hand free, but Kurai was stronger than her. He held her down so she couldn't escape. But, there was no way she was going to give up. For some reason, Kotori's mind started to wander as she thought of Yuma. **_If Yuma was in a situation like this, he'd never give up! What did Kurai do to him? I'll never forgive that jerk-face for what he did to Yuma!_**

Kurai almost succeeded in fitting the ring onto Kotori's finger. The girl's finger was a little bigger than he had expected. None the less, he still kept forcing the ring to fit. While Kurai was being distracted by the ring, Kotori carefully lifted one of her legs and raised it in front of Kurai.

"Huh?" said Kurai, holding his hand still for a moment.

"Why don't you shut your damn mouth?" said Kotori.

Thinking quickly, Kotori had kicked Kurai right into his groin.

"AUGHH!" howled Kurai. He clumsily backed away, trying to ease the pain in his groin. Kotori got up while Kurai was distracted and sprinted away towards the exit. "Alright! I'm almost there-"

"Guess again, princess."

Kotori raised her eyebrows in confusion. "Huh?"

Kurai suddenly appeared in front of her. "I got you, this time." He snatched Kotori by her arm and forced her onto the floor. This time, he got on top of Kotori, held down her arms, and sat on her legs. Kurai stared at Kotori intensely. "You can run, but you can't escape me," he said.

Kurai grasped Kotori's hand and continued to force the ring onto her finger. Unlike last time, Kotori couldn't move her limbs or fight back. She was held down and unable to do anything. Finally, after a little force, the ring sat on Kotori's finger.

The boy rose and then called, "Dark Mist!"

A blackhole-like circle appeared on the floor. It spun and spun as a peculiar creature ascended from the shadows. It smiled menacingly as it rose from the darkness. Kotori winced at the figure now looming above her and Kurai.

"Dark Mist? What are you doing here?" said Kotori.

The ghostly Number floated down to Kotori's eye level. He placed his hand under her chin. "Ah, Kotori Mizuki, we finally meet face-to-face," said Dark Mist smoothly.

Kotori swiped away Dark Mist's hand. She stood up and glared angrily at him and Kurai. "Get away from me, **NOW**! You two are nothing but **FREAKS**!" she screeched.

Dark Mist and Kurai turned towards each other. Kurai smirked at the black spirit as he pointed at Kotori. "Does this worm think she can stop us? She's weak, just like every girl on this planet!"

"Heh, indeed, Kurai," replied Dark Mist. "Now then, what is it that you wish?"

Kurai gestured for Dark Mist to come to him. The spirit hovered down to Kurai and positioned his head. The boy whispered something into his ear, muttering something Kotori couldn't understand. The Number grinned evilly at Kurai's request. He gazed at Kotori in a way that made her feel uncomfortable. "I think I can arrange for that," said Dark Mist.

The Number positioned his hands like a magician's hands when he is performing card tricks. A light sphere formed in his palm. It slowly began to take its shape as the light vanished. In Dark Mist's hands laid a piece of paper. Kurai picked up the sheet and carefully read it. He then said, "Yes, this is perfect. Well done, Dark Mist."

"Oh, it is my pleasure," chuckled the Number.

Kotori couldn't tell what the paper actually was, but after she had seen the way Kurai and Dark Mist acted, she began to feel tense. She watched intensely as Kurai had a pen appear in his hand (courtesy of Dark Mist's power) as he had written something onto the sheet.

"W-w-what are you doing?" asked Kotori nervously.

Kurai looked up from the paper. "Babe, let's just say …. You and I are gonna be together forever."

"What do you mean?" retaliated Kotori.

Kurai shoved the paper and pen into the girl's hands. She grasped the sheet and read each line by line. She then dropped the pen in shock. Kotori looked at Kurai, who was smiling evilly at her. She scowled angrily as the paper scrunched in her hands.

"You expect me to say that I'm going to marry someone like **YOU**? Well, forget it! You're nothing but a** STAIN**! It is obvious that your own family can't even stand you! I am NOT signing this damn wedding certificate! I will not be your wife and I will never marry a** FREAK**!" snapped Kotori.

Kotori crumpled the paper and tossed it into Kurai's face. She huffed and proceeded to leave. However, before she even took one step, she heard low growling. She turned around in fear to find Kurai trembling, as he clenched his fists.

"No one….. I mean it…. NO ONE CALLS ME A FREAK!" snarled Kurai.

Kotori backed away in shock. The hostile boy walked towards Kotori, anger filling his mind.

"YOU THINK THAT THE WHOLE WORLD IS SO PERFECT! GUESS WHAT? NOT FOR ME! MY OWN MOTHER DIDN'T EVEN WANT ME! YOU'RE THE FREAK!" yelled Kurai.

Kurai whipped out a concealed blade and positioned it. He then rammed into Kotori's stomach and held the girl down tightly. His blade was positioned near the greenette's neck. "You will do what I say, or else, you will DIE!" Kurai threatened. He uncrumpled the wedding certificate and shoved it into Kotori's face. "Now, I'm gonna go over this one more time. Sign the damn paper, or else, today will be your last day on Earth! Which is it? You die, or you live and be my queen?"

Kotori felt her mind race intensely. Kurai's threat processed itself into her mind. **_What am I supposed to do? It's NOT my fault Kurai's life is so messed up! It's true I don't want to spend the rest of my life with someone like him! I don't have any other choice… Yuma, I'm sorry… Forgive me…_**

Kurai impatiently tapped his foor. "I'm waiting! What is your answer? You better have picked a good decision!"

"Fine… I'll marry you."

"Say what?"

"I said I'll marry you," replied Kotori in an emotional tone. She trembled as she accepted the wedding certificate and signed it. She handed the sheet back to Kurai.

Kura smirked in success as he examined Kotori's signature. He rolled the certificate into his pocket. "You made the right move. I'll spare you, for now."

The malicious boy gestured for Dark Mist to come to him once again. He whispered into the Number's ear and Dark Mist smiled even more. The Number crossed his arms. "I think I can do that," he replied, as he rubbed his hands together.

Kotori winced in fear. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, nothing. You know…. You're so easy to fool!" cackled Dark Mist.

Dark Mist released a haze as it began to spread all over Kotori's body. She tried not to breathe the gas, but the haze seeped into her nostrils. Kotori grabbed her neck as she attempted to breathe for air, but in the end, she collapsed to the ground.

"Way to fall into my trap, foolish human," remarked Dark Mist.

The spirit bowed to Kurai. "Kotori is now yours, my king. My haze has a chemical that makes whoever inhales it under my control! Soon, Kotori will do as you please!"

"Excellent, Dark Mist," replied Kurai.

Suddenly, Kotori rose from the ground. She walked towards Kurai like a mindless individual and stood by him. "My king, I am sorry I disobeyed you," said a brainwashed Kotori. "I am yours, and I only belong to you, and no one else."

The sky turned dark as Kurai approached the edge of Heartland Tower. Thunder boomed and lighting flashed in the happy city. This made the evil king even more pleasant.

"Yuma Tsukumo, you cannot stop me. Even if you did, you lose."

* * *

**Well, well, well! Looks like Kurai is stirring up trouble! Kotori is now under Kurai's control and she has been forced to marry him!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hey guys! Sorry the update's a little late! Chapter 12 away! **

**There's a new poll on my page! It'll be open for a while! :)**

* * *

**Chapter 12**

Kurai stood on Heartland Tower confidently as a storm began to brew in Heartland City. Lightning flashed through the sky as the weather engaged in a fury. Kurai could feel victory coming his way every time, no matter what the circumstances.

The boy king stood by his newly "wedded wife," Kotori. He gently caressed her shoulders, massaging them in the process. The girl queen responded by snaking her arm around her "husband's" waist. "Kurai, dear?"

"What is it, babe?"

She whispered her thoughts into the boy's ear. The girl took a photo out if her pocket and handed it to Kurai. After he looked at the photo, the boy nodded in approval. "Of course, my dear. Anything for you! I think Black Mist can do that for us!"

The said ghost approached the royal pair. He had a mischievous look on his face and had his arms and legs crossed. "Anything you want me to do, my lord?"

"My queen and I were looking for… companions," replied Kurai. The boy unrolled a picture from his pocket and held it up for Black Mist to see. The Number looked at the picture very carefully. "Your wish is my command, my king," replied Black Mist.

"Excellent," said Kotori. "Do not disappoint me or King Kurai."

Black Mist bowed. "Yes, Queen Kotori, I will not fail you. I swore allegiance to you and Kurai only," he said. "Before I depart, I think you will need these items." The spirit pulled out an all-familiar purple sleeveless jacket and a pair of sunglasses from behind his back. He placed them in Kurai's eager hands.

"I've been wondering where these have gone off to. Thanks for looking after them, Black Mist. You have no idea how important these are to me," said Kurai, showing some sign of gratitude. He put his jacket back on as he set the Diamond Heart on his throne.

Kotori groaned, lightly tapping her fingers on the arms of her throne. "What are you waiting for? Go get us Yuma's friends!"

The black ghost responded, "I think you should let the corrupted Number of Yuma's do the job… He is not the same when he was a pure Number, now is he?"

"Is that so?" replied Kurai, picking up the Diamond Heart. "Show us!"

Black Mist closed his eyes as a dark circle appeared below him. The spirit positioned his hands as he chanted in the Astral World language. His hands started to glow as he finished his chant, "Mao ga ki pre tyo ruki noka saki!"

TRANSLATION: "Rise, now, monster of the shadows!"

Slowly, a silhouette emerged from the black hole as the vortex became bigger and bigger. Once it's entire body passed through, the vortex closed. The silhouette's eyes gleaned a dark purple as lightning flashed in the rowdy sky. The monster growled as it stared at the boy king below him.

"This, my king and queen, was formerly Aspiring Emperor Hope, but thanks to my magic, he is now DEMON EMPEROR KAOS!" cackled Black Mist. "You know what else this Number can do, since he is a part of the darkness? He'll kill any target who stands in his way, like that miserable brat, Yuma Tsukumo."

The royal "couple" looked at the dark Number created by Black Mist in awe. The might monster stood tall and valiant, showing its toughness. The boy king was very pleased by his assistant's work. "Excellent, Black Mist. You did well."

Kotori monotonously replied, "Kaos better not be a failure."

"Hmph, it was nothing. Now, about those servants of yours…" mused Black Mist.

"Oh, yeah! Kaos, I want you to come to me!" commanded Kurai.

The Number grunted as it flew out the shadows. He hovered in front of Kurai as he bowed down.

"Now then, these are your targets, Kaos," said Kurai. He whipped out a picture of Kotori with her friends. She and the rest of the gang, including Shark, smiled happily in the photo. Kurai pointed towards a particular group of boys (minus Yuma) in the photo. "I need you to bring me these worms to me. It is important that you find me these specific boys! Do not fail me, Kaos," he said in a low voice, sliding his sunglasses over his blood-red eyes.

Kaos complied with his master's command. He transformed into a cone. He spun and spun until a mini tornado blew inside the throne. The storm went wild until Kaos was in sync with the wind. Once he was part of the tornado, he rose into the sky along with his funnel cloud and disappeared in the blink of an eye.

* * *

Approximately one hour later, Kaos dragged in a screaming and retaliating group of ropebound boys down the aisle of Kurai's throne. Their mouths were muffled, and rope was tied around their bodies tightly. They tried to scream, but no one could hear them.

Kurai smiled as he stood up from his throne. He smirked at the boys below him. They were mere worms, and nothing else!

"Yes, this is just what I wanted, Kaos! Before you go, bring the boys in front of me. I need to have a 'talk' with them," said Kurai, placing emphasis on 'talk.'

The dark Number grunted in response as if he was saying, "Yes, King Kurai." He pulled out two sharp blades from his sides. The boys below winced at the blades' sharpness. It was sharper than the sharpest sword known to man. Kaos pressed one blade's side against a blue-haired boy, nudging him to move forward. The boy gulped, but reluctantly marched forward. Once he and three other boys stood in front of Kurai and Kotori, they were shocked.

"Yuma? Kotori too?" shouted all of the boys.

"What are you doing here? What's going on, Yuma? Why is Kotori even here?" shouted a purple-haired boy.

Kurai rose from his throne, taking a leap towards his captives. He raised his sunglasses, revealing his dark eyes, which were completely different than Yuma's eyes. "If it isn't Ryoga "Shark" Kamishiro. You know, I've been told that you were quite the trouble maker. Why stop now? Cat got your tongue?"

Shark, the said boy, growled as his mind took in 'Yuma's words. Deep down, he knew his past was troubled, but Yuma came around to help him see the right thing. If it weren't for Yuma, Shark would still be with those creeps….*

"Shut up, you faker!" shouted Shark, glaring at Kurai. "Its obvious that you're NOT Yuma! Yuma would never cause any trouble to others, even me!"

The three other boys looked at Shark in surprise. Confused looks spread into their faces.

"Shark? Why would you say that Yuma is a faker? He's standing right in front of us!" said the hefty boy.

The blue-haired boy coughed, "Tetsuo, I think Shark has a point."

"I concur, ura! Even I don't think this IS Yuma! Where is he?" cried Tokunosuke.

"You really think Im going to tell where Yuma is? You maggots belong to me now! Forget me telling you where Yuma is!" cackled Kurai. He snapped his fingers, "Kotori, my dear, if you please?"

Kotori rose from her seat as she walked to Kurai's throne. She leaned down and placed her hands under it. After a couple minutes, she pulled out a steel briefcase. The case itself was heavy, but Kotori had no problem lifting it. All boys below started at their friend in shock. How could Kotori be doing this to them? She was their friend!

Kotori carried the case over to the eager king, holding his hands out for acceptance. "For you, my king," she said monotonously. "Do not use these as simple tools."

"Relax, babe. No one can stop us now," reassured Kurai, opening the case.

Shark and the others watched Kurai's actions intensely, preparing for the worst. He looked to the Tetsuo, Takashi, and Toku, who were nervous and shaking. The Fish duelist felt sympathy for them since they could possibly be put in worse danger.

Unfortunately for the boys, Kurai quickly flashed a chemical sprayer in his hands. He smirked at the boys as he raised the gun.

"Good night, bitches! Sleep tight!" shouted Kurai, pulling the trigger.

Black gas leaked in the air as it seeped all over the room. The gas spread quickly, but Kurai had prepared well ahead of time. He and Kotori slapped gas masks onto their faces to shield their faces from the smell.

"You fools! You fell for my trap! We'll see who the REAL master is, now will we?" jeered Kurai, as he pointed at the boys.

The group of boys coughed as the gas spread around their body. They tried not to breathe the substance, but as always, the gas always had a way inside it's target. It seeped inside the boys' nostrils as it spread even more. Suddenly, the room became black, no one could see. The boys were not taking the whole gas crisis well. They were all running around the room in a frantic, screaming like crazy.

"Somebody help me! I can't stand the smell, ura!" cried Tokunosuke. His eyes became temporarily blind because the gas came in constant with his eyes.

Tetsuo ran around the room screaming in disaster. "Make it stop! I can't take it anymore!"

Shark grabbed his throat, coughing loudly since the gas seeped into his body. He growled as he glanced at Kurai, looming over him and everyone else. "You bastard….. What did you do with Yuma? Tell me now!"

"Oh please, you and Yuma are mere goldfish! Mark my words, Ryoga Kamishiro! You cannot stop me, your friends can't help either! I'll always win, no matter what! HAHAHA!" mocked Kurai.

The gas rapidly dissapeared after all of it seeped into the boys' bodies. Then, they fell onto the floor one by one, in pain. It was like as if an event was going to happen.

Shark was the first to experience strange things happening to his body. "What the-?" His body was quickly covered in dark fur, the ears became smaller and more rounded, and his hands and feet grew larger as they morphed into paws. "RARGH!" moaned Shark. So much pain was happening to his body, he was starting to feel slightly insane. Shark's transformation was not over yet, much to his dismay. He could feel whiskers growing out of the side of his face; His head became more feline-like, and his solid blue eyes turned into an oval shape. Some of Shark's clothes ripped as his body changed shape and size. His shark tokth necklace didn't snap at all, ot stayed intact. Finally, he fell onto the ground in a concussion as a tail sprouted from his behind.

Kurai, Kotori, and Dark Mist smiled in success, while Tetsuo, Takashi, and Toku were dumbfounded.

"I-I can't believe it… Shark is a panther.. When will this nightmare end?" shouted Takashi.

An abrupt voice shattered the Class Rep's thoughts. It sounded very chilling, much to Takashi's dismay.

"Oh, this is no simple nightmare."

The boys watched in horror as Black Mist slowly made a path towards him. He looked very threatening and more menacing than before…

"BLACK MIST? I thought you were gone! I saw you dissapeared with my own eyes!" cried Tetsuo.

"You thought I was dead. You were wrong! Consider this…. payback for humiliating me!** You and that miserable stain, Yuma, ruined my plan! I will never forget what you did to me! Now, you and your friends will suffer the consequences!"

Black Mist clenched his fist tightly, which confused the boys. In a flash, Tetsuo, Takashi, and Tokunosuke could feel Black Mist's magic effects spreading throughout their bodies. They all felt their bodies change shape, size, and form.

"What's happening, ura?" cried Tokunosuke, as his body started to grow fur. Pain jolted throughout his body as he screeched so loudly, everyone had to cover their ears. Soon enough, Tetsuo and Takashi found a small Spider Monkey wearing a hat and glasses in their friend's place.

Takashi felt feathers popping up all over him. It felt like needles pushing through your skin, only worse. "No! No! No! This can't be happening!" cried the Class Rep. He crouched down, holding his head, as his head changed shape and size. Quickly, a yellow beak popped out and positioned itself into Takashi's new face. Takashi then shrunk down to the size of a tall nutcracker.

Instead of Takashi, all Tetsuo saw was a blue and yellow parrot wearing a school uniform.

"Squawk! Takashi wants a cracker, stupid!" chirped the once-human Class Rep.

Tetsuo angrily turned towards Black Mist. He felt his anger boil even faster inside. "You've gone too far, Black Mist! If you think you can get away with this, well, forget it! I'm not gonna stand here and let you-"

Black Mist yawned as he clenched his fist. "You talk too much. Let's see how you like being a wild animal! Maybe then, you'll learn to shut up!"

Horns sprouted out of both sides of Tetsuo's head. His face changed shape as his body was forced to shrink. He was forced to be on all fours as his hands and feet changed into hooves. Some of Tetsuo's teeth were replaced with buck teeth due to his new form. White fur spread all over his body, causing some of his clothes to rip. A tail sprouted last, changing Tetsuo forever. All the royal pair and Black Mist saw was a hat-wearing Mountain Goat.

"Baaahhh," bleated Tetsuo.

Kurai grinned in success. He smiled to Kotori. "What do you think, my dear?"

"They are exactly what I wanted: Pets," replies Kotori.

"Excellent! Black Mist! Dispose of these animals in a room specifically for them!" barked Kurai. He pointed towards a green door by the end of the hallway.

"With pleasure," responded Black Mist.

A black hole appeared over the animals, causing them to go crazy. One by one, they fell in, one animal after another. Once all animals fell inside the hole, the portal closed in a flash.

Kurai could smell victory coming closer and closer. Soon, Heartland City would be his to control!

It felt good being the king.

* * *

***See Episodes 10-12 of Zexal.**  
**** See Episode 20 of Zexal.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello, everyone! *bursts out of a giant box* Welcome back to "The Shadow of Yuma!"**

**Just to clear some things up, last chapter, Yuma's friends suffered through…. a terrible change. They will NOT remain that way forever. The boys will turn back to normal. I can't say how, but you will find out in the future.**

**So now, enjoy Chapter 13! Yay!**

* * *

**Chapter 13**

The storm from Heartland City started to end as the sun started to set, shining it's red light through the rainy clouds. Some storm clouds remained, but the sunset made up for the gloominess. The sun shone like a ruby in the red sky. It looked even beautiful in the mountains outside of Heartland City.

In the forest area of Heartland Mountains, a boy and a girl sat on the rooftop of a house watching the sun set. The spiky-haired boy and a pink-orange headed girl stared at the sun as its radiant colors shone in the night sky.

The girl looked at her friend in concern. She could tell that something was bothering him, but she didn't know what. She wasn't sure whether to ask him, because it could probably have been a personal issue. Then again, a friend is a friend. If a friend is troubled, at least help them get past their troubles.

"Yuma?" said the girl.

Yuma, the said boy, turned away from the sky and looked at his friend. "Anna? Is something wrong?"

Anna took a deep breath. "I should be asking you that," she replied, making eye contact with her friend. "Is there something bothering you?"

"Everything is wrong. Kurai has stolen my life, and he's ruining my image! I can't imagine facing everyone, because they'll think that I'm a troublemaker! I can't even think of my grandma or my sister because they probably hate me, and I am sure that my friends hate me now!" Yuma quivered as he felt tears swell in his eyes. He lowered his head as tears fell onto the ground. "Damn it, Kurai! Why the hell did you even come here in the first place? What did I ever do to you? You're nothing but a sick freak!"

Yuma sobbed loudly, with Anna staring at him in shock. Thinking quickly, she then said, "Yuma, that's not true! You're NOT a bad person! I know this, because I'm your friend, and I believe in you! You would never lose hope in a situation like this, but I am not sure if you even HAVE hope! You need to stop running from your problems and face them!"

Anna's words rung in Yuma's mind. It started racing like crazy as various thoughts and memories popped into his mind. Yuma's family, friends, Duelists he had met all flashed in his memories. Then, Astral…..

"Astral…."

* * *

Yuma woke up to find himself in a white subspace. Everything was completely white. There were no buildings or any sign of life. It was only Yuma in a cold, lonely, white subspace. Yuma never felt so alone. He crouched down in sadness, dropping his head into his knees.

"ASTRAL!" he shouted at the subspace.

"Yuma!"

The boy moved his head, his face full of tears, towards an all-familiar blue alien in the distance.

"Astral!" cried Yuma.

The blue ghost couldn't leave his spot for some reason. Not willing to give up, he cupped his hands and shouted, "Yuma! Don't give in to the darkness! You will find a way to stop Kurai!"

"How? Kurai has practically ruined my life!" cried Yuma.

"No, he hasn't. If you can stop him from possibly ruining Earth, every-  
thing will be alright!"

"How do you know?"

"You need to trust me, Yuma! Right now, the only person who can save Heartland City and all of our friends is **YOU!**"

Astral's words flowed into Yuma's mind. He felt like a part of Astral became a part of himself. Suddenly, Yuma felt confidence returning to him. He took a deep breath and held the Key ((Since Yuma is in a dream, he has his Key back)). To Yuma, all of his friends, family, and Astral were all inside this one little Key.

"Astral…. I will definitely save you, and I will definitely not give up!" cried Yuma.

Black tentacles lashed out of the middle of nowhere in the subspace. It gripped tightly around Astral's body, which was placing a lot of pressure onto the spirit.

"Yuma! This…. Is my last strength…. Stop Kurai and Black Mist before its too late…." moaned Astral, as the subspace suddenly started to destroy itself.

Yuma acted quickly, holding out his hand. **"ASTRAL!"**

* * *

"Yuma, can you hear me? Yuma!"

Yuma groggily opened his eyes as he yawned. He found himself in his bed inside his temporary room.

"Ugh… What happened? The last thing I remember was Astral when we were on the roof…" said Yuma. He the looked at Anna, making eye contact. "Did you really mean what you told me, that you are my friend?"

"I really meant it, and because you never give up. When I was beating you to pulp in our fist duel,** you didn't quit and you found a way to defeat me. You can't give up, not here, and not now," said Anna, gently caressing Yuma's arms.

"Anna…. You don't know how much this means to me. I don't know what I'd do if you hadn't found me. Thank you…" said Yuma, as he was starting to slowly feel a lot more relived.

Silence filled the room for a moment. Suddenly, a beep could be heard outside the room.

"Master Anna!"

The teens looked at the doorway to find Anna's Litterbot/assistant, Rob, his optics flashing like crazy.

"I have **important** information! Important! Important!" chirped the Litterbot.

Yuma and Anna looked at the Litterbot in confusion.

"I'm sorry, Rob, but could you repeat that?" said a curious Anna.

"What do you mean, by 'important information'?" inquired Yuma.

The Litterbot beeped as his face turned and turned. "My apologies, Yuma and Anna-sama. What I am trying to tell you is that I have detected an unusual, peculiar energy from a place called Heartland Tower. The energy levels are very high for some reason," explained Rob.

Anna looked towards a boy sitting in a chair next to her. He was looking a little tense, which was unusual for him. "Yuma? Is something bothering you? Rob had just told us that he received strange energy levels from Heartland Tower."

Yuma raised an eye in confusion. "Can Rob get any footage of what's going on in Heartland Tower? I have a feeling something's going on in there."

"Certainly, Master Yuma," replies Rob. "Beep beep. Scanning…. Scanning….."

DING!

Rob's optics lit up as his mouth opened to reveal a mini-projector inside. A projection of Heartland Tower's live security feeds popped up all over the screen. At least 23 cameras were on the screen.

Yuma and Anna stared at the screen in awe. They all looked at each camera to see if they would find anything unusual. After passing a few cameras showing empty rooms, Anna stopped at **one particular camera**: Number 15. "Yuma! Look at the 15th camera! I think you need to see something!" she cried, pointing at the camera feed.

Yuma bolted out of his bed and stood at the foot of the bed. He stared at the 15th camera as instructed. An all-familiar look-a-like sat poised on a throne, with the Diamond Heart in his hands. Sunglasses draped over his eyes, and the clothing caught Yuma's attention. "Oh my god…. What has Kurai done?" he said in surprise.

Anna's eyes grew wide as she liked at the live feed. "Yuma! Look who is in the other throne next to Kurai!" she said, pointing to the throne to the right of Kurai. "It's **Kotori Mizuki**!"

"WHAT?"

Yuma stared at the live video even more. Kotori sat like an elegant princess in her throne, massaging Kurai's shoulders. Yuma swore he could hear Kurai moaning in pleasure.

"Kotori, your hands feel so soft! You're like an angel! I think I've died and gone to heaven!" said Kurai in the video.

"My king, you flatter me too much!" Kotori said jokingly.

Rob turned off his projector and let it fall back inside his system. "I hope this as helpful to you, Master Anna."

"You did well, thank you Rob," replied Anna. "Could you stay here for a little while?"

"Certainly," chirped Rob.

Anna turned away from Rob to find Yuma gritting his teeth, clenching his fists. The brunette had never seen Yuma this angry before. "Yuma?"

"Astral….. I will make Kurai pay for what he has done! How do I know?** I'm going great Kattobing!**" shouted Yuma.

A familiar green-haired girl popped into Yuma's mind. She smilies happily as she flashed through his memories.

"Kotori… I **will** save you!"

* * *

***See Chapter 4.**  
**** Remeber Anna's first appearance, AKA episode 29 of Zexal?**

* * *

Holy cow, this chapter was so emotional! I almost broke into tears writing this chapter! Sounds like trouble is brewing for Kurai! Take that, you sneaky jerk!

Kurai: Huh? Wait-

Yuma: Too late! ***punches Kurai in the face***


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

Hey guys! Sorry this chapter took a while! School got in the way go updates, and the story had to be pushed back a little. By the way, there is cartoon reference in this chapter. Can you find it and guess?

* * *

"Come on, open!"

Yuma grunted in exhaustion as he and Anna attempted to pry the door to Heartland Tower open. The door was not easy to open due to the fact that it required a card key to unlock it. Unfortunately, none of the kids had one in their possession, so they decided to open the door the old-fashioned way: Force.  
They pulled and pulled, but that darn door just wouldn't move an inch!

"Rrgh! It won't open!" groaned Yuma. His hands loosened from the door in exhaustion. He fell back onto the ground in defeat. "Damn, that door is too strong to open! There's no way we can open it!" moaned Yuma, flailing his hands in the air. He out his head into his arms, moaning.

Anna huffed, "Aren't you forgetting something?"

"What?" said Yuma muffled.

"My Flying Launcher."

"What about it?"

Anna mentally slapped herself. She walked over to her Flying Launcher (which was in landing position) and picked it up by the side. She flicked open a hatch, revealing a green button. She pressed it. To Yuma's surprise, the cannon transformed.

"Huh? What the heck is going on?" said a confused Yuma.

"Heh, just wait and see!" said Anna. Her Flying Launcher continued to transform as various parts to continue to shift around. Instead of a hovercraft, all Yuma saw was a gigantic cannon.

"Amazing!" he said in awe, admiring the weapon

Anna slung the heavy cannon over her shoulders. She carefully positioned it in front of the door. "Now, stand back, Yuma! If you were to be hit by my cannon…. Let's just say it won't be pretty."

Yuma did as instructed. He ran away from the door and stood behind Anna. He smiled at Anna an gave her a thumbs up. "Let's do it, Anna! Fire away!"

Anna smiled back in response. She readied her cannon. The gun whirred as it started to warm up. Soon enough, the gun was ready to shoot. Anna snickered, "Oh, yeah, just what I wanted to hear! Let's take down this bad boy!"

"FIRE!" commanded Yuma.

Anna pulled on her cannon trigger. Faster than the speed of light, a missile fired itself out of the mouth of the cannon. It flew like a lightning bolt as it made it's path toasted the door.

**BOOOOOOMMMM!**

The door exploded the instant the nose of the missile. It made the Tower shake slightly, but it still stood. The smoke quickly cleared from the door. All that remained was a circle-shaped gash.

Yuma grinned in victory as he high-fived Anna. "We did it! We're in the tower now!"

"Yeah! Let's go kick Kurai's butt!" said Anna, clenching her fists.

The boy then looked at the very top of Heartland Tower. He then began to think of Kotori and Astral. They flashed through his memories. Their smiling faces molded into Yuma's mind. Yuma clenched his fists in determination, his eyes still staring at the top of Heartland Tower. Yuma then shouted into the sky. "Kotori… Astral… I will definitely save you! **I'M GONNA BRING IT TO 'EM! HOW DO I KNOW? 'CAUSE I'M FEELING THE FLOW!**"

* * *

After climbing what seemed like an endless trail of stairs, Yuma and Anna dropped to the ground in exhaustion. They had finally reached the final floor. Earlier, Anna had suggested flying to the top of the tower on her Flying Launcher, but Yuma said no because he claimed that Kurai could hear the engine. The girl reluctantly agreed to climb the torturous stairs. Now, the kids' arms and legs felt like Jello.

"I feel like gelatin," complained Yuma. "I wish I had some Duel Fuel, and I'm really hungry!"

The boy's stomach growled in response, wanting to be fed. Yuma placed a hand around his stomach, moaning.

Anna reached into her bag to reveal a paper bag. She opened it and pulled out a box of riceballs. She pulled the lid off so Yuma could have a whiff.

"Oh Yuma, can you please get up? Would you do it for a riceball?" said Anna, waving it under Yuma's nose.

"No," moaned Yuma.

Anna huffed. She pulled another riceballs out of the container with her free hand. "Hmmm… How about…. Two riceballs?"

Yuma shook his head.

"Nnnooo! Leave me alone!" he moaned.

Anna smiled even more. "How about…. FIVE riceballs? I can't eat all of these yummy rice-"

Yuma bolted from the ground and swiped all of the riceballs from Anna's hands. He sat in a corner and devoured the riceballs like a hungry wolf. Anna couldn't help but quietly laugh at Yuma's silliness. Yuma is so cute when he eats riceballs! she thought, blushing.

After Yuma finished eating his Duel Lunch, he never felt better than ever. "Mmm! I feel a lot better already! Now that I've got some Duel Fuel, I'm ready to bring it to 'em!"

Yuma turned towards Anna.

"Are you with me?"

"Oh, heck yeah!" replied Anna.

* * *

And so, the two teens ventured down the hall, but there were a lot of doors. Kurai could be in any of the doors. The kids decided to inspect every door in the hall. A while later, after searching through at least twenty doors, Anna spotted a unmarked green door.

"Oy, Yuma! Let's check out this room!" she said.

Yuma nodded in agreement, "Yeah!"

When Yuma and Anna opened the green door, they were surprised to find themselves in a jungle-like room. Plenty of vegetation grew all over the room, and the place was bustling with activity. Flowers bloomed, the insects did their usual things, and there were a few animals here and there.

"Who knew Kurai had a thing for wild animals? I always thought he was an animal, since he acts like one," joked Yuma.

Anna laughed in response. "Hey, maybe he thinks he's the King of the Jungle!"

"You've got a point there."

YAAWWWNNN!

Yuma and Anna jumped at the noise. They looked at a nearby rock to find a panther yawning, licking his chops. He had just finished his dinner, proceeding to lick his paws. A necklace hung from the panther's neck, and it's charm resembled an animal tooth.

"Why does that necklace look so familiar? I feel like I know that panther," said a confused Yuma.

A screech howled across the room. Anna looked into the trees to find a small spider monkey. The monkey wore green glasses and a blue bowler hat. The accessorized simian happily ate a medley of fruit it collected from the trees. It smiled as it tasted the delicious fruit. The monkey then spotted Yuma and Anna approaching him. Curious, the simian hopped down, greeting the humans. He hopped onto Yuma's back and placed his hands in Yuma's hair.

"What's he doing?" said an unsure Yuma.

"I think he's playing with your hair-" Anna stopped when she saw the monkey holding a small bug in his hand. The monkey then proceeded to eat the bug, chewing it like mashed fruit.

Yuma stared at the monkey in confusion.

"Did that monkey just eat a bug from my hair? That's gross," he said.

Anna felt something soft rub against her legs. At first, she didn't know what it was, but she could tell that the it was very soft and fluffy. To her surprise, she found a Mountain Goat happily rubbing his head against Anna's legs.

"Baaahhh," bleated the goat happily.

Yuma and Anna were in awe by the goat's cuteness. How could they not ignore those darling sapphire blue eyes? The goat bleated as he spotted a plastic bag sticking out of Anna's bag. He gently pushed Anna and Yuma out of his way. He trotted upwards the bag and carefully pried the bag with his teeth. Inside the bag were a salty crackers, baked to perfection. The goat dropped the bag into Anna's hand and sat down like a dog in front of her.

"Baaahhh," the goat begged, wanting to be fed a cracker.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to feed him a cracker," said Yuma. Suddenly, something on the goat's head caught his attention. A hat laid on the goat's head, and it was backwards. A white tuff poked it's way through the hole of the hat.

"Is something bothering you?" said Anna, while she was feeding the goat some crackers.

Yuma raised his eyes in confusion. "I can't put a finger to it, but that goat reminds me so much of Tetsuo!"

"What do you mean?"

"That goat is wearing his hat backwards like Tetsuo, and one of his favorite snacks are salty crackers."

SQUAWK!

A blue-yellow parrot extended his talons, aiming towards the bag of crackers. The kids and the goat shrieked in surprise as the parrot successfully snagged his "prey."

"Squawk! My crackers, stupid! Mine! Mine! Mine!" said the parrot. "You can't have them! Why? 'Cause you're so stupid! Hahaha!"

The parrot perched himself on a tree branch and clawed through the bag to drop a cracker into his mouth. He chewed on it in a content mood. "Yummy cracker!"

Anna scowled at the parrot. She raised her fists. "Oy, you stupid bird! Those were mine! Give them back, you hairball!"

"Not a chance!" retaliated the parrot.

"Grrr! That's it!" snapped Anna.

Yuma grabbed his friend's arm, in hopes of calming her down. "Whoa, Anna, calm do-"

WHACK!

Anna elbowed Yuma in the stomach, the boy tumbled back a little. Yuma held his stomach in pain. "Dang, what was that for?"

"That stupid bird stole my crackers! I swear, when I get my hands on him, I'll pluck EVERY single feather until-" snapped Anna.

"Stop!"

The kids turned around to find the same parrot flying towards them. He sat on top of the goat's head, much to the goat's dismay. He opened his beak to talk.

((A/N:Because a parrot is talking, his speech may be limited. Please excuse my bad grammar for the parrot's speech.))

"If it isn't Yuma! You are here! Save us!" screeched the parrot.

"Who are you?" said Yuma.

The bird laughed, "Come on, you don't recognize your own Class Rep? Hello, look at my uniform!"

Yuma and Anna looked at the burd's shirt. It was white with red markings, and the red tie. The boy gasped in surprise.

"No freaking way….. TAKASHI? What happened to you? You're even more of a blabbering mouth than before!" cried Yuma.

Takashi, the said parrot, scowled.  
His eyes became narrow as he scowled at Yuma. "If you must know, black ghost's magic made us like this! I'm a parrot, Shark is panther, Toku became a monkey, and that goat Tetsuo," he chirped.

Yuma stared at the mentioned animals. He could see a part of his friends as those animals. That's it! "Dark Mist…. and Kurai… I should've known! I knew that something was odd about these animals," he growled. "Do you know where Kurai is?"

"Yup. Go outside, then look for a purple door marked with a green D," replied Takashi. "Be careful! He has Kotori!"

Yuma nodded. "Yeah!" He turned to Anna. "I hate to ask you this, but could you look after the guys until I find a way to turn them back to normal?"

Anna shrugged. "I've got nothing better to do. I'll watch the boys. By the way, go show Kurai who the REAL Yuma is!" she said.

Yuma smiled back at Anna. "I will. Thank you, Anna."

With that, Yuma proceeded to exit the room. He looked back at his friends-turned-animals. He looked at them in sorrow. "Shark, Takashi, Toku, Tetsuo…. I will find a way to make you normal again! Believe it!" he said.

* * *

Sounds like Yuma is on the move! Let's hope he can turn things around! Stay tuned for "The Shadow of Yuma!"


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Last time on "The Shadow of Yuma":**

**Yuma: Anna and I infiltrated Heartland Tower, only to find our friends as animals! Dark Mist and Kurai had turned them into animals, but luckily, Takashi [He had changed into a parrot] could speak to us. Shark, Tokunosuke, and Tetsuo were unfortunate victims of Kurai's tyranny.**

**Anna: Oy, Yuma, aren't you going to show Kurai who's the REAL Yuma?**

**Yuma: Heck yeah! That guy needs to learn not to mimic me**

**Spatial-Eyes Photon Fenix: This chapter, we're going back to a certain blue ghost. Why don't we check on how is he doing. Poor guy, he is still upset over what had happened to Yuma a few chapters back. One more thing: Keep your eyes peeled for a surprise character! ;)**

* * *

Astral never felt so broken in his entire life. He was emotionally wrecked and tears stained his face. The blue spirit was in a fetal position inside the Key's ship. Yet, you could feel pity for Astral, after what Kurai had done to Yuma.*

"Yuma…. It's my fault…. I couldn't do anything…. I wish I could've stopped Kurai….. I feel so useless.." he cried.

"Astral," said a deep voice.

The spirit looked to find a man standing next to him. He looked at the man in shock. He was tall and lean, with jet black spiky hair. He wore adventurer-like clothes and a fedora. A smile was on his face.

"Kazuma?…" said Astral in awe.

Kazuma, the said man, sat next to Astral. He looked into Astral's eyes. "I can tell that something is bothering you. We all have troubles. If you are alright with telling me about your issues, I will listen."

Astral uncurled himself from his position. He sat on a edge of the ship. "You don't know how terrible I am… Not after what Kurai did to Yuma…" he said nervously.

"Hold on, who is this Kurai character? I wish to know what he did to Yuma!" said Kazuma, concern filled his eyes. "He better not have hurt him… Did he?"

Astral shook his head. "Y-yes… Kurai hurt Yuma with his knife, right in front of me. I wanted to do something, but I can't psychically touch anyone or anything. I feel so helpless…"

Kazuma stated at Astral in shook. Images of his own son being hurt flashed through his mind. From teasing at school to this? What kind of person would want to stab a thirteen-year-old?

"What does this Kurai character look like?" he asked.

"Kurai…. Looks EXACTLY like Yuma. He walks like Yuma, and his voice sounds the same as Yuma. He has two huge scars on his chest that looks like the Roman language for the number two," said Astral, "every time I think of Yuma, all I see is Kurai! Why did he have to come here and ruin everything? He is just a freak!" he screamed.

Astral dropped his head and continued to sob even more.

Kazuma placed a hand on Astral's shoulder, taking a deep breath.

"We all have our own troubles, even the bad people in this world have issues like us. If you took a moment to see what life was like for Kurai before he came here, you would understand why he is who he is," said the human.

"What do you mean?" muffled Astral. "I don't think he even cares that he hurt Yuma! I hate that little freak! I want him to die!" he screeched, tears falling from his eyes.

"Astral, I think you should see what life for Kurai was like before he arrived here," said Kazuma.

In an instant, the two were transported to a odd place. It looked like a cave, and bubbles containing various images of people floated around the cave. Astral stared at the place in awe. Slowly, he felt his depression wilted away.

"What is this? I've never seen anything like this inside the Key!" said Astral in amazement and slight gloominess.

"This, my friend, is what is known as Cave of Memories. No one ever knew this even existed inside the Key. I came across this place while trying to find my way out of the Astral World," revealed Kazuma.

The man guided Astral towards a certain bubble in the center of the cave. He pointed at it. "This is what life was like for Kurai. It is all inside there. If you want to see something, all you need to do is tap the bubble."

Astral was unsure about this. What if Kurai was hiding inside the cave, ready to ambush him? Could it be a trap? He looked at Kazuma. Deep down, he knew that he could trust Kazuma, but after what he and Yuma had learned from V**, he found out that Kazuma was trapped inside the Astral World. Then again, Kazuma's spirit could possibly be helping him out someway.

"Very well… I would like to see." he said quietly.

Astral tapped the bubble. In an instant, a projection of a woman being assaulted appeared. A man was be seen in the background, but it was hard to see who it was. Then, it cut to the same woman leaving a baby in front of a building.

Astral got a good look at the baby's face. What he had seen was shocking. "No way…. Is that Kurai?"

Kazuma nodded his head solemnly. "Yes, that baby is indeed Kurai. From what I had seen, it appears his mother was violated before he was born."

Astral stared at Kazuma in shock. He had learned what "violation" meant from Yuma after seeing a drama on TV. **_Does this mean that Kurai grew up without a mother or a father?_** he wondered.

The movie continued as it showed a younger Kurai being surrounded by older children in an alley. They all pointed at him and yelled:

* * *

_"Freak! Taking our cards like that!"_  
_"What a stain!"_  
_"You're a little monster! Give us our cards back!"_  
_"You're a wuss! What kind of little freak would take cards from us?"_

_Kurai got very angry. He clenched his fists and his eyes grew wide._

**"SHUT YOUR ******* MOUTHS! _**I**** AM NOT A FREAK! YOU'RE THE FREAKS, AND DESERVE TO DIE!"** he screamed._**

_To the bullies' surprise, Kurai pulled out a gun. He aimed it towards the leader of the bullies. "Say goodnight, you jerk-face. You're the one who deserves to die."_

_BAM!_

_A red circle covered the leader bully's forehead. The bully gasped for air aas he felt the bullet's pressure increase inside his head. He grasped his neck, breathing for air._

_"Argh….. Ugh…" he moaned, falling facedown onto the ground._

_He never woke up._

_The leader's backups and members shook at the sight of Kurai. They now knew that their target was now menacing and more threatening than they had thought._

_"Dude… The little freak just killed Dakota!" whimpered one bully._

_"G-guys? Let's go! I don't want to be near that freak!" said another bully, a little shaken from his leader's death._

_"Same here," replied the other bullies._

_The bullies dispersed and left Kurai alone in the alley as rain began to pour into Darkland City. The boy fell onto his knees as he looked at the corpse laying in front of him. A small pool of blood formed on Dakota's forehead, covering the bullet hole. Slowly, Kurai looked at himself, then Dakota._

_"I just killed Dakota.. Am I really a freak…?"_

_Kurai felt all of his anger, teases and taunts by bullies, and rage build inside. His irises grew wide and some of his teeth became slightly sharp. He could feel the darkness filling his mind, but he didn't care. "Those jerks…. Anyone who calls me a freak will pay….."_

* * *

Astral started at the bubble in shock and awe. He never knew how horrible life was for Kurai, especially since he was a bad boy. Now he understood why Kurai was so violent and mean around people. "Could it be that whenever someone calls Kurai a freak, it is his weakness?" he asked curiously.

"Not exactly. It makes Kurai go insane, he'll hurt anyone who gets in the way. You need to be careful when you call him a freak," replied Kazuma.  
He continued, "About my son, Yuma wouldn't want you to be always upset like this. He would want you to be able to stand up for yourself and your friends. You would want to help Yuma if you were in his place, would you?"

Astral looked at Kazuma in awe. The man's words slipped into his mind. Little by little, he could see memories of him and Yuma together. From the day Yuma dueled Shark*** to them winning the World Duel Carnival, instead of Kurai, all he saw was Yuma's smiling face.

"Yuma…. I feel so ashamed for hiding from you for so long.. It was like as if I ran away from the fight," said Astral, slowly trembling.

He could feel tears attempting to form, but he brushed them away. For some reason, the ghost began to have a strange feeling. Strange, this is like as if something is coming back to me. What is it? Could this have been something that I lost for so long? pondered Astral. Is this what Yuma called, courage? Yes, yes, yes! It is indeed courage! That was I was missing for so long! I feel my confidence flowing inside again!

Kazuma smiled at his spiritual friend, crossing his arms. He closed in eyes as he slowly disappeared inside the Key. Take care, Astral. Please, stop Kurai from ruining the world. You and Yuma are the world's only hope! Don't give up, and bring it to 'em! he said telepathically.

Astral's ears perked up at the sound of Kazuma's voice. "Oh, Kazuma? Thank-" He turned around, only to find the man gone. He crossed his arms in approval, giving a slight smile. "Thank you, Kazuma," he said telepathically, "you made me feel a lot braver than before."

The spirit then looked at the white light leading to the exit of the Key. It shone luminously as always, indicating that the real world was open. Astral took a deep breath. He breathed in and out, and he felt all of his stress leave. He then shouted bravely, "Yuma, I am done hiding from Kurai! I will come and fight again along aside you!"

"Oh, how sweeettt…." taunted a malicious voice.

Astral shifted his body and his eyes grew wide in shock and surprise. "Dark Mist…." he said in a low voice. "What are you doing here? Hope creamed you last time!****"

The Number crossed his legs, sneering at Astral. "You believed that I was dead, well guess what? You were wrong! You really think that I am going to let you leave the Key? You're not getting through until I kill you first!" he spat.

"Is that so? I still have Hope!" retailed Astral. "Hope!" he called.

No answer, only silence filled the Key.

"Tsk, Tsk, Tsk, my dear Astral…. While you were playing Mr. Upset Emo Ghost, Kurai did the liberty of stealing Number 39 from you and Yuma! That boy and I make a good duo, compared to you and that wimpy human friend of yours!" sneered 96. "Don't even think of getting Hope back on your side! My magic is immune to your antics! Now then, why don't I try? Oh, Number 39, come to your master!" he shouted into the dark void.

GRROOHHHH!

A giant monster rose from the shadows like a shadow creature waiting for flesh. He flew towards his master, unveiling himself. Sadly, appearance was all too familiar to Astral. The creature's midnight black armor and purple eyes shone in the light, along with a blood-red "39" on his right shoulder armor. Instead of two spike-like pieces on both sides like Hope's head, they were replaced with horns. The Number looked more menacing than before.

"Grrrrrrrrr…" he growled.

"H-H-Hope? What-" stuttered in Astral. He scowled and angrily stared at Dark Mist. "You bastard! What the hell did you do to Hope?"

"Are you that idiotic? Number 39 is MINE, now! He is no longer Aspiring Emperor Hope, but now reigns as DEMON TYRANT KAOS!" cackled Dark Mist. "Are you scared? Going to run away, you little crybaby?" he jeered.

Astral scowled, clenching his hands. "No," he said in a low voice, "I am tired of running away, even from the likes of you! Yuma and I have fought together for months, and against you! For once, I will fight alone, for Yuma! You will pay for what you and Kurai did to everyone! Fight me, Dark Mist!"

96 chuckled, "Astral, Astral, Astral…. I'm not the one fighting you. Kaos will be fighting for me, since he is my loyal servant. Face it, you said that I'm too weak to fight you, so why not let Kaos fight? I'm sure it will be fun watching you be all emo all over again!"

Astral looked at Dark Mist, then Kaos. He looked at his face, and he could see a mental image of Hope's bright, pure face. It was like as if Hope was trying to say, "Do it, for me and Yuma, Astral."

The spirit closed his eyes. Yuma appeared on his mind, smiling at him. "Astral, let's duel! I'm gonna bring it to 'em today!" he said happily.

Astral opened his eyes and scowled his eyes. "Alright, Dark Mist, let's get this over with, once and for all!"

"Heh heh heh! Splendid! I am going to enjoy watching Kaos beat you to pulp!" said Dark Mist. "Chop that little Jello to pieces, Kaos!"

Kaos grunted in response. He pulled out two long swords, and they very sharp-looking blades. Astral didn't seem intimidated at all by the monster.

"Yuma, I am done hiding! Today, we will triumph and prevail! Why do I know this? Because I am feeling the flow! Get ready to get deck'd, Dark Mist!" shouted Astral confidently.

"Very well," said Dark Mist. "Bring it on!"

* * *

**Next Chapter:**

**Yuma: "WHAT? Kotori? Why are you with Kurai? You aren't supposed to be with him! That isn't me! Why are you causing all of this trouble, Kurai? Answer me!"**

**Astral: "Dark Mist and Kaos have found me inside the Key! I has agreed to fight them, only to reclaim Hope on my side! Kaos, I know that you're under control, but you're still Hope deep down! Don't give in to the darkness!"**

* * *

***See Chapter 4.**  
****Episode 56 of Zexal**  
***** Waaayyy back in Episode 1 of Zexal!**  
****** Episode 38 of Zexal**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**Last time on "The Shadow of Yuma:"**

**Astral: "Kazuma and I learned about Kurai's past. We found out his true weakness and that is what drives him insane. However, we have to be careful not to say it too often. I had regained the courage to fight thanks to Yuma's father. Before I could leave, Dark Mist and the tainted Hope, Demon Tyrant Kaos, had found me. I had challenged Dark Mist to a fight, but he had Demon Tyrant Kaos fight me instead. I don't know what to do now!"**

**Yuma: "Astral! Hang in there!"**

**Photon Finex: This time, we're coming back to Yuma! Trouble is brewing up for Kurai this time! Before we get started, I would like to thank my reviewers. TWENTY-NINE REVIEWS! Yay! :D I would like to thank especially: Ying-Yang-Yo, Tsukuyomi-chan, Innocent Demon, and Dairey-Syns. Thank you guys so much for your reviews. You all gave me do much motivation, lol. :D Enough with the chit-chat! Chapter 16 away! *flies out of a cannon***

**By the way, to make up for the previous chapters, I DO NOT OWN ZEXAL!  
**

* * *

Yuma dashed down the hallway like madman. All he could focus on was rescuing Kotori from that evil Kurai! If your best friend was kidnapped, you would feel the same way. Yuma happened to be anxious and determined at the same time. His mind raced as thoughts of Kurai hurting Kotori filled his mind.

"Kurai, you freak! You better not have hurt Kotori! I swear, if you do, you will regret touching her!" muttered Yuma.

The boy darted down the hall desperately looking for the door Takashi had spoken about.* Come on, purple door, purple door, where is it? thought Yuma anxiously. It's gotta be around here somewhere!

Yuma's question was quickly answers when he saw an all-familiar door at the end of the hall. It matched his own shirt symbol, which was a little confusing to him. _This must be where Kurai is holding Kotori hostage! he assumed. Wait…. I can't just barge in Kurai's throne! What if he….. kills Kotori? I can't risk her being killed! I'll just have to listen in to their conversation._

Yuma placed his ear on the door, hoping to hear some talking. Instead, all he heard was….. Pleasent moaning. He swore he heard a deep moan, which he assumed was Kurai. The boy's mind raced intensely. He listened hard and carefully to the noises. What the heck is going on in there?

* * *

"Oh, baby! Your hands are sooooo good…." purred Kurai, jerking back a little in his throne. The boy king was getting the treatment of his entire life: A massage by his lovely queen, Kotori. My goodness, her hands feel like an angel's. I knew I made the right decision by making Kotori my queen, he thought.

Before Kotori could massage Kurai's chest, she pointed to his jacket ans said, "Could you take off your jacket? I can't massage your chest if that's in the way."

"Of course." Kurai let his jacket drop to the floor, revealing the rest of his chest.

* * *

Yuma couldn't believe what he was hearing! What was going on? Was Kurai making Kotori do dirty things?He scowled, "That's it, Kurai! You've gone too far! First you kidnap my friends, then you make Kotoro play dirty with you! I've had it!"

Yuma backed up a few feet from the door. He readied himself as he stared intensely at the door.

"I'm gonna bring it to you, Kurai," he growled.

Yuma charged at the door from the side. He rammed into the door on his side, and surprisingly, it fell down like a domino.

* * *

Inside the throne, Kurai and Kotori were so distracted by each other, they didn't realize that Yuma was invading their throne until they heard the door smash into itty-bitty pieces.

"What the devil?" shouted Kurai, placing his jacket back on his body as he surveyed the damage. The boy's throne was now covered in wood splinters and dust from the door blew all over the room. His throne wasn't as clean and polished as before, since it was filled with debris. Kurai scowled as he marched towards the assasilant under the rubble by the entrance.

"Alright, you little piece of crap! What the hell was this for? Who are you? Show yourself!" barked a pissed-off Kurai.

A cough was heard from below the rubble. The voice sounded familiar to Kurai, which slightly intimidated him. The rubble rose as a body pushed the trash above his head, revealing an all-familiar boy to the king and queen.

"Yuma Tsukumo…. I should've known! How did you get out of that warehouse? Wait…. That's not important," scowled Kurai. He turned his back to Yuma as he walked back this throne. "If you've come for Kotori, you're TOO LATE!"

Yuma growled, "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You're the one who kidnapped my friends, and you nearly killed me!" He stood behind Kurai and tugged him by the jacket. "Tell me now!" he yelled.

Kurai turned around quickly and grabbed Yuma by the arm. He pushed his double into the ground and placed one foot on his head. "You spineless fool, Kotori is MINE now! She and I are married! Why don't you ask Kotori herself?" Kurai poured towards the mentioned girl sitting in her throne.

Yuma groaned as he lifted his head. He gazed at Kotori, sitting poised in her throne. Instead of her normal clothes, Kotori wore a beautiful, flowing, green dress. Her hair was down and a tiara sat on her head. She looked so much like a real princess, you wouldn't recognize her that easily.

"Kotori! Don't tell me that youre married to Kurai! He is a terrible-" pleaded Yuma.

The mentioned girl stared at Yuma. She gave him an unpleasant look as she rose from her throne. She walked to her husband and scowled at the boy below them.

"So, this is the worm, Yuma Tsukumo, you have told me about, Kurai. He is an even bigger loser than I had expected!" jeered Kotori, sneering at Yuma as she knelt down to his eye level.

Yuma was really hurt by Kotori's statement. "Kotori…."

"By the way, don't even think of asking me to marry YOU, because Kurai and I are married. Can't you see?" said Kotori.

She waved her diamond ring on her hand in front of Yuma. The boy stared at the ring. It's real alright, complete with a diamond! Damn it, Kotori! Why did you go for Kurai? He is the bad guy here! thought Yuma.

Kurai unrolled a piece of paper from his pants. He carefully unfolded it, making sure not to wrinkle the paper. He opened the paper, waving it in Yuma's face. "Why don't you look at our wedding certificate? Kotori even signed it, agreeing to marry me! You can't do anything about it, because Kotori is mine, ALL MINE!" he hissed, placing great emphasis on 'mine.' "So, take it and leave it, Yuma Tsuku-loser" bragged Kurai.

"Kurai is right, Yuma. He is my husband, and I refuse to cheat on him in any way!" snapped Kotori.

Yuma took a step forward, looking straight into Kurai's eyes angrily. "Listen here," he hissed, poking Kurai in the chest. "Duel me."

"Say what?"

"I said, duel me."

Kurai couldn't help but chuckle. "HAHAHAHA! You want to duel ME? You've got to be joking!"

"I'm not kidding!" snapped Yuma. "Duel me now, or are you too chicken to even fight me? I don't remember one king ever being chicken!

"Shut up! If it'll make you shut your damn mouth, I duel you, on the following condition," interjected Kurai.

"Oh yeah? What's that?"

Kurai sneered. "You haven't seen your precious friends as a part of my animal collection, have you? If so, you lose, you will make a nice addition to my collection."

Yuma scowled even more, clenching his fists. "I accept your challenge! But, if I win, you have to let Kotori go!" he declared. Yuma stood boldly in front of Kurai, face-to-face. "I'm not letting you go that easily, Kurai," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, please! You think I'm scared of a loser like you? Bring it on!" shouted Kurai, readying his D-Pad.

"It is so on!" replied Yuma. He reached into his pockets to reveal his D-Gazer and D-Pad. "Let's go!"

**"D-GAZER, SET!"**

Yuma tossed his D-Gazer into the air. It transformed from it's normal form to a dueling scouter. It's vibrant colors resembled his Ace Monster, Hope. Once the D-Gazer finished its morph, Yuma grabbed the scouter and placed it over his eye.

Kurai scoffed at the scouter, placing his hands on his hips. He sneered, "Heh, that's so lame! Get a load of this! **"****SHADOW CHANGE!"**

As Kurai readied his deck, a yellow D-Gazer tattoo shaped like a serpent generated itself over Kurai's eye. The tattoo changed his blood red eye color to a dark green shade. At the same time, Kotori had put on her D-Gazer, but this time, she too had a D-Gazer tattoo instead. It was shaped like a phoenix with its colorful red shade. Kotori's hazel eye color immediately morphed into a dark pink-like shade.

Suddenly, Kurai's body started to glow white. The room became so bright, Yuma had to cover his eyes. "What the heck is going on? Don't tell me that this is like Kaito's Photon Change!" he shouted.

As the light began to shimmer, Kurai's appearance changed completely. Instead of his usual outit, the boy now bore an armor strikingly similar to a Dragoon's. ((A/N: Think of "Final Fantasy III." Imagine the Dragoon armor with a vibrant purple shade and gold)) Kurai smirked as he approached Yuma. "Can't you see that I'm practically unbeatable? You're going to regret dueling me in the first place!" he jeered.

**"D-PAD, SET!"**

Yuma tossed his red D-Pad into the air, as it shifted to form a Duel Disk. Once it finished changing, it landed into his arm.

Kurai, on the other hand, held out his normal midnight-blue D-Pad. The boy's D-Pad glowed as it began to change shape. Instead of a standard D-Pad, all Yuma saw was a midnight black dragon-shaped D-Pad.

"Think you're still gonna duel me?" jeered Kurai.

"I am done running away from the fight!" shouted Yuma hotly. "I am tired of being held down because you think you're better than everyone else!"

"You're making me bored already," yawned Kurai, "can't we just start the damn duel already?"

"I think you already know the answer to that," snapped Yuma.

Kurai held up a hand. "Before we even begin out duel, Yuma, I need to do one quick thing." The boy king placed the Diamond Heart into Kotori's hands, who was standing by their thrones. "Don't let anything happen to the Heart. If anything happens to me, the throne is yours, my dear."

Kotori replied monotonously, "Your wish is my command."

"Excellent," hissed Kurai. He then waved his hand. In an instant, a giant bubble-like substance covered Kotori.

Yuma stated at the giant bubble. "What the hell are you doing?" he shouted.

"Tsk Tsk Tsk, Yuma, I can't just let you run off with Kotori, now can I? Besides, it would be a shame if you left with a Kotori still loyal to ME," smirked Kurai.

Yuma growled angrily as he stared at Kurai, then a mind-controlled Kotori. "Kurai, let's duel!" he shouted.

In response, Kurai laughed. "I thought you'd never say it! Soon, you'll fall into the darkness!"

**"DUEL!"**

* * *

**Next time:**  
**Yuma and Kurai have what could he the duel of the century! However, things aren't looking good for Yuma, as Kurai has a few tricks up his sleeve! At the same time, Astral and Dark Mist fight for control over Hope, who had become Demon Tyrant Kaos! Can Yuma prevail and turn things around? Will Dark Mist reign control over Kaos? Find out next time in, "The Shadow of Yuma!"**

**Photon Finex: Just a heads up! Honestly, I ABSOLUTELY suck at writing a complete duel, so I'll only do a few parts of the boys' duel. Thought I should let you all know. See you later guys! Bring it to 'em!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**IMPORTANT! PLEASE READ!**

**Photon Finex: Hey guys! Listen up really carefully! This is story marks my debut of like, my first time writing a duel, and I decided to like, only do parts of it or whatever. To be honest, I ABSOLUTELY stink at writing duels! So, if I make any mistakes, please DO NOT make any rude, critical, or insulting comments! Just simply tell me if I made a mistake.**

* * *

**Last time, on "The Shadow of Yuma:"**

**Kurai: That shrimp head, Yuma, intruded into my throne! Why is he here? He thinks he is so brave, trying to rescue Kotori. What that geek doesn't know is that Kotori is under my control! His tiny peanut-sized brain thinks that Kotori actually chose ME over him! What an idiot! Yuma challenged me to a duel, with the condition that I release Kotori to him. However, if Yuma loses, he will forever be apart of mine and Kotori's animal collection, just like his puny friends! Heh heh heh…..**

**Photon Finex: This is it, folks! The moment you've all been waiting for! Yes, it is the fight between Astral and Demon Tyrant Kaos [Aspiring Emperor Hope's corrupted form, all because of Dark Mist's magic]! Yay! Just to let you know, there will be major drama ahead! I can't say when, but you will find out in this chapter! Enough with me, let's bring it to 'em!**

***Drives on a D-Wheel flashing a banner saying, "You're Now Reading Chapter 17!"***

* * *

Astral breathed heavily as he stared at the gigantic Number on the other side of him. Demon Tyrant Kaos loomed above the spirit like a giant, as he kept his eyes glued on his target. Behind Kaos stood Dark Mist. He smiled smugly as he stared at Astral.

"Can't you see, Astral? Kaos is practically indestructible! I can't believe that you were even brave enough to face me, a Number, and Kaos, ANOTHER Number!" jeered Dark Mist. He then threatened, "By the way, don't even think of trying to escape the fight, because if you do, Kaos and I will both personally kill you….. Heh heh heh….."

To 96's surprise, his pure counterpart showed no signs of fear or intimidation. "I am DONE running away from you! You don't frighten me anymore, because I have Yuma, and we both need each other! Unlike you, I actually acknowledge him and don't ASSAULT him!*"

"Yeah yeah, whatever! Let's fight already!" growled Dark Mist. "Now then, Kaos, attack that insufficient pleasent!"

Kaos grunted as he pulled out two gigantic swords. They shone luminously as he positioned them in his hands. He stood valiantly like a brave soldier. "Grrrr…" growled the dark Number, taking a swing of his sword toward Astral.

CLANG!

Astral swiftly dodged Kaos' sword attack. He kept his eye on the Number while Kaos attempted to slash him over and over again.

Dark Misy scowled as he watched his enemy dodge almost every attack by his Number. He stood up shouting, "Kaos! Don't let Astral get away at all costs! Do you hear me?"

Astral stopped running as he looked straight into Kaos' face. Deep down, he knew that Hope was inside Demon Tyrant Kaos! He just had ti find a way to wake him up! Astral held both arms out as he maintained eye-contact with 39. "Hope, stop this! Can't you see that Dark Mist is using you? Yuma is dueling and he can't duel on his own! He needs us! Come on, snap out of it, and fight Dark Mist's control!" shouted Astral.

Dark Mist lashed out his tentacles. They lashed around the blue ghost, pinning down his arms. Astral could feel the tentacles binding tightly around his body.

"Oh no, you don't! Kaos is mine, you pathetic excuse for an Astral Being!" snarled Dark Mist. He then gazed towards the corrupted Number. "Kaos, who is your real master? Me, or this wuss here?" he said, pointing at Astral.

Kaos held his head with both hands in confusion. The Number Monster groaned and groaned as it took in Astral's and Black Mist's words. Deep down, Kaos knew Astral was it's true master, but the darkness was stronger. Dark Mist's magic increased Kaos' pressure evn more. Slowly, Kao's body started glowing white.

Astral and Dark Mist stopped fighting for a moment to find that Kaos was glowing.

"What is going on?" said Astral, grasping Dark Mist's arm harshly. "Answer me!" he screeched.

Dark Mist slapped away Astral's hand. "How the hell should I know? He was YOUR monster!"

"That is such a ******* excuse! You really think that I'm going to listen to a Number who can't even tell a lie without a straight face?" screeched Astral.

"SHUT THE **** UP!" snapped Dark Mist. He then turned towards Kaos. "Well? Finish off Astral!"

Kaos groaned as his body glew even more. He places both hands to the sides of his head. "I… I can't handle the pressure anymore… It's too much…" he moaned. "G-g-goodbye…. Astral…."

"KAOS, NO!" screamed Astral.

It was too late.

Kaos' body glew so intensely, the whole subspace inside the Key became white. Then, cracks and pressure of heat coould he seen seeping from Kaos' body.

"I'm sorry…." moaned Kaos. "The pressure is too much…."

BOOOOOMMM!

Kaos' body exploded like the atomic bomb. The explosion was so intense, Astral and Dark Mist had to cover their eyes do they wouldn't be blinded. Soon, the smoke cleared away. Astral opened his eyes to find no monster in front of him. Instead, golden particles floated around the subspace in Kaos' place. A green orb floated from the atmosphere and carelessly landed in Astral's hands.

"This….. This was Hope's chest orb…. His Overlay Units would go in there…" stuttered Astral, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

Dark Mist opened his eyes as he watched the gold particles float around the subspace. He scowled angrily at the blue ghost below him.

"I almost had Kaos to reign supreme  
with Kurai, but no! You had to come and ruin it all, and Kaos was mine! Damn you, Astral!" screeched 96.

Astral angrily turned towards Dark Mist, tears falling from his eyes intensely. He held onto Hope's green orb as of it was an important treasure. Slowly, he felt his anger rise intensely. All he could think of was Yuma and Hope. Dark Mist had done enough!

"SHUT YOUR DAMN MOUTH! I AM TIRED OF YOU RUINING THINGS! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO MADE HOPE KILL HIMSELF! YOU WILL PAY FOR HOPE'S DEATH!" Astral screeched loudly.

Dark Mist retaliated, "ME? IT'S YOUR FAULT YOU HID AFTER KURAI HAD DEALT WITH THAT WIMP, YUMA-"

SLAP!

96 backed away as he held a hand to his stinging cheek. He had never seen Astral this enraged before, and you could tell that he was really pissed-off.

"Don't. Ever. Talk. About. Yuma. Like. That. Again. You. Jerk," growled Astral, gritting his teeth.

Dark Mist didn't know why, but he began to feel….. Afraid.

"I'm afraid of YOU? How can this be? All of the glory was for ME! Not that pathetic freak, Kurai! I was going to dump him after I kill you!" he snapped.

"You-You…. Were only using Kurai….. As a tool? I don't give a crap, 96! I am going to send you to hell!" scoffed Astral.

"Oh please, that little freak wasn't important to me, and he never will be, because he such is a loser! The only reason I even recruited him was just so I could have Number 39! Everything was going according to plan…. BUT NOOOO! YOU HAD TO CAME ALONG AND MESS UP EVERYTHING!" he shrilled.

"THAT'S IT! I AM TIRED OF SEEING YOUR FACE! YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT ANYONE, ONLY YOUR SELF! YOU SEE HUMAN BEINGS AS TOOLS, AND YOU USED KURAI AS YOUR SERVANT!" snarled Astral. "I am done playing with you."

With that, the spirit whiffed out a weapon. It was not an Earth weapon, because of its strange appearance. The weapon itself was a gun, but this gun had an usual shape to it. It was curved at the bottom, but it had some qualities from an Earth revolver at the nozzle area.

((A/N: Forgive me, I don't know any gun anatomy))

Dark Mist was taken back by the weapon Astral had in his possession. Slowly, his body started to shake in nervousness.

"No! Don't tell me that is-!" stammered Number 96.

"Yes, this is the Star Fazer, rightful weapon of the rulers of the Astral World.** Only those worthy of the king and queen of Astral World are chosen to possess something like this," growled Astral, between tears. He hovered his finger above the trigger, aiming the nose carefully at Dark Mist.

"W-wait! Can't we talk this out? I will even give you whatever you want!" stuttered Dark Mist.

"I already have what I want, YOU!" Astral lowered his finger onto the gun trigger and pulled on it with absolutely no shame.

WHOOSH!

Faster than a lightning bolt, an extraterrestrial bullet quickly whizzed through the Key's Subspace. 96 couldn't see where it was going, but suddenly, the Number felt a stinging sensation in his forehead.  
"NYAA!" he howled, placing a hand over his left eye. Gooey white started oozing out of the black ghost's eye. The liquid spread all over his hand and eventually dropped all over his arm. Dark Mist removed his hand to only find white blood all over his hand.

"W-what is this?" he screamed.

"This is your true fate. Don't. Ever. Come. Back," growled Astral in a low voice.

All of a sudden, Dark Mist felt his body bubble as more and more white blood filled his body. The vile Number yelled loudly, "YOU LOW WATT FREAK! YOU ARE SO DEAD!" he shrieked.

The only reaction Astral had was peculiar. He had a frown on his face as he watched Dark Mist's body bubble with more white blood. Forsooth, 96 looked like someone with hives, due to the fact that his body began to swell up because of the blood. "Damn you, Astral…. YOU ARE SUCH A FREAK!" screeched Dark Mist.

"Shut up," replied Astral cooly, raising his gun at Dark Mist once more. "This is your fate. Accept it, you imbecile."

WHOOSH!

A bullet whizzed itself out of the gun's nose after Astral pulled the trigger once more. It left behind a jet stream as it flew through the subspace, creating a path towards Dark Mist's inflated body. 96 watched in horror as the bullet came a few inches close to him. He screeched loud enough for the entire subspace to hear. "RRRGHHH! I. HATE. YOU. ASTRAL!"

KABOOOM!

Dark Mist's body began to melt like crazy as the bullet penetrated into him. Black sticky substances came apart like jelly.

"AAAAAHHHHH! I HATE YOU, ASTRAL!" shrieked 96.

Astral stared at 96 as he continued to melt. He crossed his arms and frowned at the Number as he continued to melt into nothing.

"It was you who wanted this fate," the spirit replied hotly.

Eventually, only Dark Mist's arm stuck out of a pool of a black jelly-like liquid. His hand was clenched in anger and revenge. A muffled sxream could be heard, but Astral ignored it. Soon, all that really remained of the vile Number were splattered black, gooey substances that made up his body.

Astral breathed in, and breathed out a big sigh, a sigh of relief. He looked at the Star Fazer, then Dark Mist's remains. I killed Dark Mist… he thought. He caused too much pain and suffering for everyone, including me. He even killed…. Hope….

Even thinking of Hope made Astral feel uneasy. Memories of the heavenly Number flooded into his mind. They were so overwhelming, he started to feel emotional as tears welt in his eyes. "Hope…. What has Dark Mist done to you? T-this shouldn't h-ha-have happened!" cried Astral, slamming his fist on a fender of the Key's shop. "DAMN IT! YOU DIDN'T DESERVE TO DIE! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HAVE THIS FATE? NOTHING! You were my friend, and Yuma's ally…."

Once again, Astral carefully lifted Hope's green orb into his arms and caressed it as if it were a very valuable possession. To Astral, this was all that remained of Hope. "Hope….." he whispered hoarsely. While Astral lamented over his fallen friend, more tears streamed from his eyes. His face was so full of tears, he was practically wrecked.

A tear trailed off of Astral's cheek. The teardrop itself trailed from the face all the way to the green orb. The tear carelessly plopped over the sphere, not leaving a single scratch, only a drizzle of Astral's sorrows.

All of a sudden, the green sphere emitted a golden light. It began to glow like a firefly as it flee itself out of Astral's hands. Light shone over the orb, making it float. The spirit opened his eyes to witness such a peculiar event. "What is going on? I have never seen anything like this before!" he said in awe.

As the light path shone even more, so did the green orb. Golden dust carelessly hovered around the orb. The dust scattered to different points surrounding the ball. It slowly generated itself as they formed together to make a shape. One by one, joints began to regenerate from the magic dust. Soon, a big, bulky, armored body appeared in place of the green orb, as it had rested in the armor. Then came the arms, legs, and wings. Lastly, the head formed itself as the creature's pure red eyes glimmered.

To sum it all up, Astral became overwhelmed with shock and emotions. "Hope…..? Is that…. You?" he sputtered.

"Grrohhh….." he grumbled lowly.

"Hope….. HOPE!" cried Astral.

He flew like crazy over to Number 39's gigantic body. He gripped his side protrusions tightly. "Hope… You're alive…. I can't believe this! Y-Y-Yuma and I…" Tears flew again from Astral's eyes. This time, they were tears of happiness, no grief.

"Astral, look at me," rumbled Hope's deep voice. "Only we can achieve victory together, you, me, and Yuma. Dark Mist and Kurai Tsukumo may have broken us apart, but our bonds are still strong," he continued.

"You're right….. But what can I do?" muttered Astral.

A bright red flash emitted into the Key. The wave's sounds bounced into Astral's ears. "Yuma's in a duel!" he shouted in realization, "I must go help him!"

Hope held out a hand. "I am coming along with you. I am done hiding from the enemy!"

"Hope…." Astral clenched his fist in determination. "Let's rise and conquer the darkness!"

* * *

**Photon Finex: That concludes Chapter 17! I am not going to lie to you, I nearly almost cried writing this chapter! In the end, the tears were worth it. Time to face the music now. Hope is ALIVE! Hallelujah! Hurry up, you two! Don't keep Yuma waiting!**

* * *

*Episode 20 of Zexal  
** I have this headcanon that the Astral World have a king and a queen, and their most prized weapon is only given to an Astral Being worthy of possessing it.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**Photon Finex: Listen up, everyone! This is my first time writing a duel, and honestly, I've attempted to write****duels, and I STINK at them! So, I am only going to do either parts of a duel or whatever since this is MY story. Please DO NOT make any rude, critical, or harassing comments about my duel! If I made a mistake, just simply tell me without any harsh criticism, OK? By the way, for you Pokemon fans, there is a Pokemon reference is this chapter. Can you find it? ;)**

**Note: Italicized cards are official Yugioh cards; Bolded ones belong to me.**

* * *

Yuma fell onto the ground after he had received a nasty direct attack from Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon.

_IPPT Dragon_  
Dark; Level 5  
ATK: 2200; DEF: 1100

**YUMA: 3300 - 3000  
KURAI: 2500 **

Kurai sneered at Yuma as he laughed at him. "You fool! You fell for my spell card, _Change of Heart_! can choose one of your monsters to control until the end of my turn! Your _Gogogo Giant_ is mine! You can't stop me, because I'm unstoppable!" he sneered.

"Kurai! Listen to me-" shouted Yuma.

"No, you listen to **ME!**" interrupted Kurai, waving his hand as a gesture of not listening. "I am your king, and you will do what I tell you to do, maggot! First, I activate my continuous trap card, _Robbin' Goblin_! Every time one of my monsters inflicts damage to your Life Points, I can randomly select one hard from your hand! That's not all! I can send that randomly picked card to the graveyard!" he recited.

"What? You have got to be kid-!" retorted Yuma.

"Oh, I don't kid, Yuma!" interjected Kurai. "In fact, since I already dealt some damage to your life points, I can pick one card from your hand to go bye-bye!"

Suddenly, all of Yuma's cards in his hands appeared as a hologram facedown. Kurai stared at all three cards, carefully deciding which card to choose.

"This is going to be too much fun for me to torture you, Yuma. Don't even think of counting on Number 39 to help you, because he's all mine and Dark Mist's! What are you gonna do about it? Plead for mercy? I don't think so, you shrimphead!" he scoffed, referring to Yuma's hair spikes.

"Shut up!" retorted Yuma.

Kurai shrugged, "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Now, let's see….. I pick the card on the left!"

The mentioned card flipped over, revealing a Trap Card_, Mirror Force._ Yuma cringed when Kurai had discovered his plan. "I knew you had something planned ahead of time! You were gonna use _Mirror Force _on me after my monster attacked, didn't you," Kurai jeered, "heh, you sure are terrible at placing a valuable Trap Card facedown during the wrong turn! What an idiot! Anyway, I set one card facedown and end my turn!"

Kurai looked at his D-Pad screen for a moment and he tapped the card he had set. He smiled smugly after reading his Set Card's effect. Yuma is so gonna be so screwed when I use this baby, he mused.

"My turn, draw!" called Yuma. He flipped his hand over to find a Spell Card. "Just what I need!" he mused. "Next, I will summon _Neo the Magic Swordsman_ in Attack Mode! Come, Neo!"

A majestic man clad in blue and green armor popped out of his card whilst millions of tiny pixels melded together to form the magic warrior. Neo swayed his sword valiantly whereas his finger began to glow from the magic.

_Neo the Magic Swordsman_

Level 4

ATK: 1700; DEF: 1000

"Next, I will activate my Spell Card, _Wonder Wand_!" stated Yuma. "This card can be equipped to Neo, and he gains 500 additional Attack Points! Neo's Attack Points are now 2220!"

Yuma opened his D-Pad screen and looked at Kurai's monsters that had already been summoned. He analyzed each monster and their effect(s) carefully. _Kurai has Giga Gagagigo with 2450 Attack, IPPT Dragon with only 2200, and Flamvell Fiend has 2100 points. Alright! I think I know which monster to attack! _

Kurai tapped his foot impatiently. He growled lowly, cracking his knuckles. His sunglasses lowered over his eyes whilst he stared at Yuma. "Are you going to attack or not!" he shouted angrily.

"I was about to do that! Neo the Magic Swordsman will attack IPPT Dragon! Go, Neo!" commanded Yuma.

"You are so stupid!" bantered Kurai. "Spell card activate! _Swords of Revealing Light!"_

"What?"

"Thanks to this card, you can't attack for three turns!" jested Kurai. "Face it, Yuma, you can't beat me!"

Yuma growled angrily as he watched Swords of Revealing Light come into effect. A green bolt emitted from the three swords. It shocked the Magic Swordsman, paralyzing him. "Darn it!... I end my turn," Yuma grimaced reluctantly.

"Heh, now, tremble before me, Yuma! Prepare for trouble, and make it double! I will now overlay Interplanetarypurplythorny Dragon, Flamvell Fiend, and Giga Gagagigo! Xyz Summon!" shouted Kurai.

As Thorny Dragon, Flamvell Fiend, and Giga Gagagigo turned into colored wisps, they flew into the sky to perform and Xyz Summon. Soon, a colorful spiral appeared on the ground as the wisps landed inside the eye of the gale.

'With these monsters, I build the Overlay network! Come, **Number 02: BioDragon**!" commanded Kurai.

A gigantic, maroon cyborg dragon pixelated from its Xyz Monster card. The creature itself looked like a robot-organic hybrid, but a life-support system was hooked onto its back between the wings. Two pipes ran from the tank supplying BioDragon with oxygen. It's tail was spiked like an Anklyosaurus' tail. Finally, a red number 2 glowed on the monster's life support system.

**"RRROOOOARRR!"** shrieked BioDragon.

Kurai stood valiantly by his newly summoned monster. "Yuma, meet Number 02: BioDragon! BioDragon, I believe you're already acquainted with your dinner."

* * *

**Photon Finex: Things are heating up! The duel has just begun! Can Yuma beat Kurai at his own game? By the way, I apologize if this chapter was short. I wanted to try writing a duel.**

**By the way, I would like to thank all of my reviewers, people who subscribe, etc. you guys gave me encouragement! As a thanks, I will write a Zexal one-shot for you guys! Any one-shot ideas, PM me or leave them in the comments.**

**-Chao!**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**My goodness, this chapter was late! I apologize for the delay because my brother graduated from boot camp yesterday, so we had to fly for Chicago on Thursday, but I'm back!**

**-Italicized cards are official Yugioh cards; Bolded are mine.**

* * *

Yuma gazed at the gigantic Number monster Kurai summoned last turn: **Number 2: BioDragon.**

**Number 2: BioDragon**  
ATK: 1000; DEF: 2000

The cyborg dragon breathed heavily as oxygen ran from its tank to its mouth. Pipes connected into the dragon's mouth delivering oxygen. The tail was like a spiked club, and it's eyes resembled robotic optics.

"GRROOOGHH…." it growled.

"Numbers….. How? What?" stuttered Yuma.

Kurai snickered as he glanced towards his opposite. "Are you that stupid? I 'borrowed' this Number from Heartland Mueseum! Those suckers will think its YOU who stole the card, while I can get off while you take my place in jail. There is NO way I'm ever going to that place!"

Yuma gasped, not sure whatever to believe Kurai or not.

"YOU did what? What the hell were you thinking? No one will believe me that YOU are the troublemaker!"

"Now you're getting it! I'm better that you, and Kotori is mine, you twit, since she is under my control- I mean, she came to me by free will," snapped Kurai.

Yuma quickly looked at a mind controlled Kotori inside her force field. She stood like a statue, eyes emotionless, and her expression was very stoic.

"You monster!" he snarled, "what kind of person are you, forcing girls to marry you?"

Kurai waved his hands, yawning. "I don't care about you! Can we just get back to the duel already? You're boring me with your blabber!"

"Fine," groaned Yuma. He glared straight at Kurai's face. "Don't think I'm letting you off that easy."

"Whatever, its still my turn!" sneered Kurai. He looked at his monster's card and read every detail carefully. Once he was ready, he looked at Yuma in a way that made him feel slightly uncomfortable. " I will activate BioDragon's effect! Once per turn, I can steal EVERY attack point from ALL of your monsters on the field! There is a setback, this effect only works if you have monsters with 2000 or more attack points!"

Yuma was taken back by Kurai's statement. He stared at him wide-eyed. "WHAT? You're bluffing!"

"I don't bluff, you're idiotic enough to attack me right away! Face it, Yuma, you can't defeat me and my Number! BioDragon, have all of _Neo the Magic Swordsman's_ attack points!" commanded Kurai.

The tank on BioDragon's back activated when the Number roared. Purple liquids flowed into the neck pipes and flowed into the beast's body. An Overlay Unit disposed of itself as it flew to the Graveyard. Then, BioDragon opened his mouth, spewing a yellow plasma orb straight at Neo the Magic Swordsman.

"This can't be happening!" cried Yuma.

"Oh, it has just begun, Yuma! This nightmare isn't over just yet!" said Kurai.

BioDragon's orb hit Neo directly and it drained every Attack Point of the magician. After Neo's attack points were completely drained, the Spellcaster monster disintegrated into yellow pixels. His attack points went directly to BioDragon, increasing his own. All of Neo the Magic Swordsman's attack points increased the dragon's own attack points by 2220.

Neo the Magic Swordsman  
ATK: 0; DEF:

BioDragon  
ATK: 3220; DEF: 2000

"3220 attack?" exclaimed Yuma, taken back by Kurai's sudden move.

"That's right, Yuma! But, there's more to BioDragon's effect! Since _Gogogo Giant_ was YOUR monster, his attack points are stolen too!" added Kurai. "BioDragon, take Gogogo Giant's attack points!"

Gogogo Giant  
ATK: 2000; DEF: 0

Another Overlay unit of BioDragon's dispersed into the Graveyard as he fired another yellow orb at Gogogo Giant. The towering stone monster crumbled onto the field and was destroyed as each attack point was drained into BioDragon.

"Thanks to Gogogo Giant's 'present,' my monster gains 2000 additional attack points! Now, BioDragon will attack Neo the Magic Swordsman!"

BioDragon  
ATK: 5220; DEF: 2000

Number 2 spun his body around in a rapid motion like a spinning top. His tail swung so fast, not even the naked eye could see it. Neo the Magic Swordsman didn't noticed that the the Number's tail slammed into him.

"Why, BioDragon? We're all monsters…." he said telepathically.

"I'm sorry, but I must do what my master says," responded BioDragon solemnly, "good bye, comrade."

"I set one card facedown and end my turn," finished Kurai.

YUMA: 900  
KURAI: 2500

Yuma glared at Kurai after his opponent's monster consumed more of his own monster's attack points. He began to feel helpless because his monsters had gotten beaten to a pulp just by getting all of their attack points stolen. If Kurai keeps stealing every single one of my monsters' attack points, I am so screwed! What am I supposed to do? I don't have a Trap or a Spell Card to counter BioDragon's effect! It's no use…. Kurai is too powerful…. I can't stop him….

Yuma dropped his knees to the ground and stared at it. His body shook as tears threatened to fall from his face. "Astral…. Kotori…. Shark… Tetsuo…. Anna… Takashi… Tokunosuke… I failed to save you…..  
It's all my fault…"

On the other side of the field, Kurai smiled smugly, mocking his opponent, "Have you finally given up now? What an idiot, giving up to me just because you're scared of my Number! It's no use, Yuma, your blue friend ran away because he's a big chicken! He can't help you now!"

"SHUT UP!" screeched Yuma. Tears streamed down his face in anguish. He pounded his fist in distress into the ground, leaving a dent on the steel roof.

"Stand up, Yuma. We will win."

Yuma looked up to find an all familiar shadow looming above him. Slowly, he tilted his head upward to find….

"ASTRAL!"


	20. Deleted Scene 1

**Deleted Scene #1: **_**Prank**_

**Photon Finex: There were many ideas and scenes I just wanted to include into "The Shadow of Yuma"! After countless thoughts some of them just didn't make it into the story. Fret not! Today, I'll share with you a deleted scene from Chapter 6! (You know, when Kurai caused a mishap in class pretending to be Yuma.)**

**Reason for Cutting: I wanted to put this scene into Chapter 6, but I felt that it was slowing down the story and it wasn't continuing the flow of it either. Alas, I had to remove this scene. But, I will let you read what could've been a part of Chapter 6.**

* * *

There were many kinds of places Kurai was not very find of. From school to prison, the principal's office was worse in Kurai's book. He sat in his seat outside the principal's office in front of the secretary's desk. He placed his head against his hand as he listened to Mr. Kay converse with the principal about the mishap he caused in class.

_Stupid teacher, he thinks he can ruin my moment to taint Yuma's image! I had a chance at victory, but noooo! Mr. Prissy Pants had to shatter my fantasy!_ groaned Kurai. He slumped as dozed off. Before he fell asleep, a loud cough woke him up. Kurai shifted in his chair only to find his upset teacher, Mr. Kay, and furious principal, Mr. Hatanaka.

Mr. Kay pointed at Kurai. "Yuma, you're usually one of the best students in my class! Why did you take off your shirt in class?"

Kurai answered, "The girls seemed to like it, so why bother?"

"That is **NOT** what I want to hear, young man!" snapped Mr. Kay.

"Mr. Tsukumo, don't even think of trying to get out of trouble. You, young man disrupted your class from….. Exposing yourself," added Mr. Hatanaka. "You got yourself into this, Yuma! Don't even try to talk your way out of this-"

At that moment, a woman burst into the waiting room.

"Mrs. Okubo? What brings you here?" asked Mr. Hatanaka.

The woman's business suit scrunched she bent down, panting heavily from exhaustion as she bent down. "Mr. Hatanaka, Taichi is wedgied on the flag pole again," she cried, pointing to a boy stuck on the top of a flagpole, along with a group of bullies laughing at him. Taichi did not seem to enjoy being up in the air, due to his slight fear of heights.

"Somebody help me!" cried Taichi, flailing his arms and legs. A hook was strapped under his underwear, hanging the poor boy at least ten feet off of the ground.

Both male teachers and the secretary looked at Taichi from inside the office in shock.

"Get me an ice pack! We have to lower Taichu from the pole, again," said an exasperated Mr. Hatanaka.

"Yes, sir!" chirped Mrs. Okubo. She ran to a mini fridge under her desk. The freezer door opened and she grabbed a big ice pack. "Ice pack!" she said, waving it in the air.

"Come on, Mr. Kay, Taichi's your student," said the principal firmly.

"Yes sir," responded Mr. Kay.

Before all of the adults left the office, Mr. Hatanaka glared at Kurai. "DON'T leave this room, young man," he said in a low voice.

With that, Mr. Hatanaka closed the door and left with the other two teachers to help Taichi.

When all seemed clear, Kurai jumped out of his seat. He looked around the halls through a window. "All seems clear. Time to put Plan B into action, since that stupid teacher ruined Plan A," muttered Kurai.

The boy opened the door and snuck to his locker. After he unlocked it, the boy pulled a duffel bag and slung it over his shoulders. He ran to nearest janitor's closet and locked the door. The light turned on, but luckily, it wasn't too bright. Kurai unzipped his duffel bag and took out every prop inside necessary for Plan B. "Those losers won't see what's coming at them…"

* * *

After Taichi was finally free from dangling on the flag pole, the teachers excused him to use the restroom. The poor boy was still shook up from being suspended in the air. Calm down, Taichi, you're alright. The ground is your friend, not the air, he reassured himself as he was walking to the restroom, Take a deep breath, and breath in and out.

Once Taichi reached the boy's bathroom, he walked to the sinks and washed his face. Cold water help to soothe the boy in distress. "Stay calm, stay calm," he muttered. "Be in your happy place-"

"Grrr….."

Taichi jumped at the noise. He shook as he nervously turned towards the bathroom stalls. The only stall that was closed was the one in front of him. Taichi gulped and nervously approached the stall. He knocked on the door in a jittery nature. "H-h-h-hello? Somebody?" he asked nervously.

Silence filled the restroom for a moment, then a hoarse, croaky voice spoke from inside the stall. "Taichi… I want… To eat your brain….."

"WHAT?" cried Taichi. "G-go away!"

The voice spoke again, "No….. Need flesh…."

The stall door fell down, revealing a green-skinned Kurai. His clothes were ripped and stained with blood. His hair was a mess, and he looked like a psychotic person.

"Give me…. Your brain…." moaned Kurai.

Taichi backed away in horror and shock. His body sweated heavily as he tried to make his way out. "S-stay away from me, Yuma! I gotta go!" The boy quickly burst through the door and yelled, "ZOMBIE!" all the way throughout the hall.

Kurai walked in a limp-like motion as he moaned loudly like a zombie as he left the bathroom. _I can't believe that wimp fell for my trick! He actually thought I was a zombie! If I can scare Taichi, then maybe I can get the entire school to freak our! Oh, Kurai, you never fail yourself!_

* * *

Later, at lunch period, Kotori, Tetsuo, Tokunosuke, Takashi, Cathy, and Shark were eating lunch together. The group of friends were discussing the outbreak from class earlier with 'Yuma.'

"So, you're saying that Yuma took off his shirt in class?" inquired Shark.

Kotori blushed in embarrassment. "Yes! He even wolf-whistled at me!"

"Yuma called Kotori 'babe' when he was walking with us to school," piped up Tetsuo.

"To summarize, something is very fishy with Yuma," said Takashi.

Cathy raised her hand. "Even I find it strange, nya."

"I concur, ura!" said Tokunosuke.

Suddenly, Taichi came running towards the kids' table. He panted heavily as he bent down.

"Taichi? What's wrong?l" cried Kotori.

Taichi caught his breath. "Zombie. In. Bathroom. Followed. Me. RUN AWAY! ZOMBIE ATTACK!" he cried, running away again.

At that moment, a sickly, green-skinned Kurai burst out of the bushes by the gang's table. He groaned loudly as he walked like a limp person towards the kids.

"OH. MY. GOD!" shrieked Kotori. "ZOMBIE!"

"RUN AWAY!" yelled everyone else.

A few minutes later, after Kurai invaded Yuma's friends' table, he 'attacked' other kids by biting them. The entire student body went in a frenzy, thinking that they would become a zombie.

* * *

Meanwhile, Mr. Hatanaka and Mr. Kay went in a searching frenzy for Kurai. They noticed to find him gone after Taichi was lowered from the flag pole.

"Where did Mr. Tsukumo run off to? I told him not to leave his seat!" growled the principal.

"I'm afraid I have no idea where Yuma had run off," confessed Mr. Kay.

At that moment, a student burst into the office in a panic. He shook the Principal's arm. "Mr. Hatanaka! Mr. Hatanaka!" he screamed.

"What's wrong?" inquired Mr. H.

The boy shrieked, "THERE'S A ZOMBIE ON CAMPUS! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE!" He then ran away and hid from the 'zombie.'

Mr. Hatanaka and Mr. Kay looked at each other.

"I think we've found out where Mr. Tsukumo is," said Mr. Kay nervously.

"Affirmed," replies Mr. Hatanaka.

* * *

**One hour later….**

Kurai exited the boy's bathroom laughing his head off. "Oh my god, those guys were ago stupid to believe that a zombie was attacking them! Oh, Kurai, you never fail!"

The boy didn't look where he was going, and he ended up bumping into a tall man. "Hey, move it-" Kurai stopped to find himself face-to-face with Mr. Kay and Mr. Hatanaka, who was more furious than ever.

**"TSUKUMO! OFFICE, NOW!"**

* * *

**Photon Finex: That concludes our deleted scene! I deeply apologize for not including those scene in Chaoter 6, but it just didn't seem to fit on with it.**


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

**Photon Finex: Yahoo! Chapter 21 ahoy! *pops out of a jack in the box with Tron***

**Tron: A ha ha ha! This is too much fun! More! More!**

**Photon Finex: You can have the toy, of you tell the readers one announcement.**

**Tron: Okay! Photon Finex does NOT own Yugioh Zexal! Can I have the toy now?**

**Photon Finex: Why not? *hands Tron the jack in the box***

**Tron: WHEEE!**

* * *

"Astral…." whispered Yuma.

The blue ghost gave a smile at his human companion. "I've kept you waiting too long, Yuma."

Yuma wasn't sure what to say. He had been separated from Astral for too many days. If you were in Yuma's situation, you would understood how he felt. There were times when both human and Astral Being were not together, but they always found a way to back with each other.

Now, Yuma felt tears flow through his eyes. This time, they were tears of joy, not anguish. He smiled at his spiritual companion with tears of joy. "Astral….. I'm just glad you're back.." he sniffled. "Don't worry me like that again, please."

"Yuma, I will never worry you too much. I think there's someone you should see," said Astral, reaching into his body.

Yuma couldn't tell what Astral was doing, but then, the ghost revealed a Xyz Monster card in his hand. Astral placed the card into the boy's eager hands, then he crossed his arms and waited for Yuma's reaction.

Yuma looked at the card in his hands intensely. Tears flowed even more when reading the card's name. "_Number 39: Aspiring Emperor…. Hope_…. You're here…." he stuttered.

To Yuma's surprise, Hope's image on the card began to glow. A small group of golden dust surrounded the picture, emitting a small light. Then, Hope began to speak through his image, **"Yuma, Astral, I am sorry I could not help either one of you. Dark Mist had me under his control. He forced me to do horrible things, such as kidnapping your friends, Yuma. I am deeply regretful of committing that action towards your companions. I tried to fight back, but his magic was stronger than me."**

"Hope…. Don't blame yourself. It's not your fault my friends are animals. Dark Mist had you under the influence of his….. Craft," replied Yuma. "All that matters is that we're together again: You, me, and Astral," said Yuma, in a slightly-happy tone.

Suddenly, Kurai's D-Pad began to glow. It gave off a purple shade, and it appeared to be coming from the deck. Curious, Kurai pulled the card out of his deck only to find..

"_Number 96, Dark Mist_? Why is his card here?" said Kurai. He looked at the picture of the card. The monster looked like a bull instead of a black version of Astral. The creature appeared to be more dangerous then ever. What was peculiar was that the entire image was grey, even the lettering.

"Astral, why is Dark Mist's card grey?" inquired Yuma.

Astral sighed. "While I was inside the Key, Dark Mist encountered me with a corrupted Hope, who had become Demon Tyrant Kaos. Both of us fought for control over him, but he ended up exploding himself…."

"Dark Mist did what?" interjected Yuma.

"As I was saying, I lost my patience…. And I killed Dark Mist…." concluded Astral.

Kurai glared angrily at Astral. His hand shook as he pointed at the spirit. "Y-you killed Dark Mist?… HOW DARE YOU?"

Suddenly, Dark Mist's card rose from Kurai's hand. It spun and spun like a hurricane, creating a wind storm. A ball of light crackled like thunder as the card was enveloped inside the plasma sphere. The light became so intense, everyone had to cover their eyes. After more crackling, the electricity died down, and Dark Mist's card fell into Kurai's hands. The image of the card looked worn out now, and there was no color. It was plain grey, and the lettering was no longer gold, only plain black text.

"W-what is this? What happened to Dark Mist's card?" cried Kurai.

"Ugh…. What happened? Where am I?"

Kurai ears perked up at the sound of Kotori rising from her force field prison. However, just by looking at the girl's eyes, the boy could tell something was off.

Kotori yawned, "Ugh…. What happened? The last thing I remember was-" She stopped midsentence when she saw TWO Yumas in front of her, which made her nervous and jumpy. "HUH? TWO Yumas? What's going on- Wait a minute!" she shouted. The greenette then realized that her normal outfit was replaced with a sparkly jade green dress, complete with a tiara on her head. "I don't remember wearing anything like this! The dress is too tight!" she cried.

Yuma ran towards Kotori's force field prison in panic. "Kotori! Listen to me! Kurai is the real bad guy here, NOT me! You gotta believe me!"

Kotori huffed, "If you really are Yuma, then….. When is my birthday?"

"November 11!" chirped Yuma.

"Anyone could've told you my birthday!" snapped Kotori. "Hmm….. When did you and Astral first meet?"

Yuma tried to remember when he and his partner first came together. As he thought harder and harder, it all came back to him. "Astral and I met the day I dueled Shark!"

"And why were you dueling Shark?"

"To get Tetsuo's deck back from Shark!"

Kotori stared at Yuma in astoundment. She couldn't believe what she had heard. _He actually got those questions right! I knew it! He IS Yuma, not that cheapskate Kurai who thinks he's king!_

"Yuma…. It is you!" cried Kotori, tears falling from her eyes.

Yuma looked into Kotori's eyes with a small smile on his face. "Kotori…."

**"ARE YOU DONE WITH YOUR STUPID REUNION YET?"** interjected an impatient Kurai, who was tapping his feet.

Yuma pointed his finger at Kurai. "Can't you learn to shut up for once?"

"I don't give a ****! Let's just get this duel over with, NOW!" snapped Kurai.

"Fine! Can't you learn to be, I don't know, patient?"

"I'm not listening to you!"

All of a sudden, Dark Mist's card began to give off a blue light. Kurai swiped the card out of his deck box and noticed the image was glowing. "What the?…."

* * *

Inside the jungle-like room of Heartland Tower, Anna happily ate a bunch of fruit Tokunosuke had brought her. The spider monkey smiled as he watched Anna consume the fruit he gathered.

"Mmm! This is really good fruit! Where did you find it?" asked Anna, chewing on an apple.

Tokunosuke made a few gestures with his hands, then chirps Anna couldn't understand. Then, the monkey guided Anna towards a gigantic tree stocked with any fruit you could name. The tree was the size of a California redwood tree, plenty of squirrels and chipmunks inhabited the tree, as they enjoyed the fruit.

"I've never seen a tree like this before!" exclaimed Anna.

Tokunosuke nodded in response. He made a few gestures to the top of the tree. "Ook eek ha ha yi!" he chirped.

Translation: "Let me get you some more fruit, ura!"

Tokunosuke climbed his furry body onto the tree bark, then began to climb higher into the tree. Halfway to the top, he began to feel slightly weaker. What's happening to me, ura? I feel like as if I can't climb a tree this good anymore!

Tokunosuke's fur vanished and was replaced with human skin. His arms and legs became longer from when he wasn't an ape. His face became less rounded and more human-like. Lastly, the tail vanished from his butt.

Suddenly, Tokunosuke spoke again, "Huh? What? Why am I-" He looked at himself, only to find himself completely nude. He blushed madly like a tomato. "Oh my god! What the? The last thing I remember was eating a bunch of bananas! I don't feel so good," he moaned, running his stomach.

"AAAAHHHH!"

Tokunosuke climbed up the tree in a hurry and his inside the leafy area of the treetop. He peered out of a hole that was made in the leaves and examined the source of the noise. He gazed towards a group of bushes and found three familiar boys surrounded by Anna. He placed his ear against the hole to eavesdrop.

"STAY THERE, AND DON'T CONE OUT UNLESS YOU HAVE CLOTHES ON!" Anna screeched at the bush, aiming her cannon at Shark, Tetsuo; and Takashi, who were also completely nude.

"Why should we listen to you?" snapped Tetsuo, huddling behind the bushes with Shark and Takashi.

"Hmph, you're more annoying than Yuma!" growled Shark.

Takashi coughed, "To summarize, you're being sexist, and I WANT MORE SALTY CRACKERS!"

* * *

Kurai stared in awe as the image on Dark Mist's card glowed even more. The card's picture emitted a dark blue light as the card suddenly projected a moving image.

"What is this?" he shouted.

Astral's eyes went wide. He nudged his partner, "Yuma! This is from when I….. Had a 'talk' with Dark Mist before I….. Disposed of him."

"How is Dark Mist's card playing a video?" cried Yuma.

"I cannot answer that question, Yuma", replied Astral sadly. "All we can do is watch the video…"

Dark Mist's card image projected a video from the card image as the picture began to glow even brighter. Soon enough, the video popped up.

Inside the clip, Dark Mist could be seen talking to Astral.

_"I'm afraid of YOU? How can this be? All of the glory was for ME! Not that pathetic freak, Kurai! I was going to dump him after I kill you!" he snapped._

_"You-You…. Were only using Kurai….. As a tool? I don't give a crap, 96! I am going to send you to hell!" scoffed Astral._

_"Oh please, that little freak wasn't important to me, and he never will be, because he such is a loser! The only reason I even recruited him was just so I could have Number 39! Everything was going according to plan…. BUT NOOOO! YOU HAD TO CAME ALONG AND MESS UP EVERYTHING!" he shrilled._

Kurai growled angrily as he listened to every single word that Dark Mist had said. His rage boiled inside like crazy, and his mind raced intensely. _That damn Astral Being….. He was using me? How dare he? He called me….. A freak! **NO ONE CALLS ME A FREAK!**_

Yuma watched Kurai nervously as his body shook and shook. He noticed something was unusual after he had seen Number 96's card project that conversation. "Astral! Don't tell me that Dark Mist's words are true! It can't be!"

"Yuma, I'm afraid that this is actually true. Dark Mist had deceived Kurai the whole time he was with him. He was only using Kurai to steal Hope," replied Astral solemnly.

Yuma looked at Kurai worriedly. His evil twin shook nervously and he kept breathing heavily. He reached his hand towards the other boy's shoulder. "Kurai…." whispered Yuma hoarsely.

Kurai smacked away Yuma's hand harshly. He looked even more enraged than before. **"DON'T TOUCH ME, YOU DAMN, DIRTY, GOODY-TWO SHOES!"**

Yuma backed away nervously as Kurai angrily stomped towards him. "I am nothing like you! I'm a freak, but you're not! Why the hell is your life better than mine? Answer me, dammit!" yelled Kurai.

"I can't answer that, because I don't know!" snapped Yuma. "Stop taking your anger out on others! I'm sorry your life was terrible-"

SLAP!

Yuma pressed his hand against his stinging cheek after Kurai had slapped him harshly. He held his cheek in pain. "Ow! What the hell was that for?"

"I DON'T WANT YOUR SYMPATHY!" Kurai snapped hotly.

Kotori gasped after she watched Kurai hit Yuma within her prison. She just wanted to be free so she could teach Kurai not to hurt her friend!

"HEY! Leave Yuma alone, jackass!" shouted Kotori.

"Shut your mouth, you stupid girl!" growled Kurai. He continued to speak, "You're not even worthy to me anymore, since you'd rather have Yuma over me!"

Kotori huffed and crossed her arms. She stated straight into Kurai's eyes. "Well, good riddance! I'm NOT the one who kidnaped you from your own house, force you to marry me, and hypnotized you into my husband! You need to grow up!" she snapped.

Kurai retracted, then spat, "YOU GROW UP, MAGGOT! I THOUGHT YOU WERE DIFFERENT, BUT YOU'RE JUST LIKE EVERYONE ELSE! I AM DONE PLAYING NICE WITH YOU! IF YOU WON'T LISTEN TO ME, THAN I'LL MAKE YOU LISTEN TO ME!"

Kurai didn't know it, but in his heart, the darkness from both Numbers 2 and 96 increased greatly. They both filled his body with evil, unclean thoughts. "W-what is this power?"

"Yes….. Kurai….. Let us…. Use your body…." rumbled both Numbers 2 and 96 in sync.

"NYYYAAA!" shrieked Kurai. Dark energies entered his body, which caused him to fall into tue ground and hold his head.

"KURAI!" cried Yuma, as he sadly watched his opponent suffer from his pain.

Soon enough, the dark energies shrouded Kurai's entire body. His Dragoon armor became midnight black, along with a few streaks of purple. The dragon-shaped D-Pas looked even more wicked than before. Last but not least, both of Kurai's glowed with a "2" in his left eye and "96" in his other.

Yuma, Astral, and Kotori were astounded by Kurai's change. Kurai appeared to be more aggressive than before. He scowled deeply, showing some of his sharp teeth.

"Kurai! Don't give in to the Numbers! They're only using you!" cried Yuma. "STOP IT!"

"Yuma, this is NOT good! Kurai's inner darkness combined with Numbers 2 and 96's powers are very dangerous!" shouted Astral.

The Number-possessed boy spoke, but in a low voice. "There is no Kurai anymore…. You think I'm a freak…. But, I'm not. Those of you who called me a freak will suffer…"

"No… KURAI!" cried Yuma.

Kurai shouted, "SHUT UP, YUMA! DON'T CALL ME THAT NAME! Bow down to me…. I am your Dark Lord…"

Numbers 2 and 96 glowed in Kurai's eyes, emitting a dark, gloomy shadow.

"Yes…. Kurai….. Show your hate…." loomed both Numbers 2 and 96.

* * *

**Astral: What the? How could Kurai be possessed by two Numbers?**

**Yuma: You're right! Didn't Tokunosuke get possessed by two Numbers before?***

**Astral: Yuma! This is serious!**

**Yuma: You're right Astral! We have to free Kurai from the Numbers! Don't give in, Kurai! STOP IT!**

* * *

***Zexal episodes 5 and 6**


	22. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

**Photon Finex: Whoop whoop! The final battle is FINALLY here! Party time!**

**Astral: What is this "party time?"**

**Kurai: It's when you like, get to chill out and stuff. Heck, I'd rather-**

**Yuma: HEY! Get your own introduction! *punches Kurai* You're giving away spoilers!**

**Edit: Shark now has a line in Chapter 21.**

* * *

Darkness shrouded Kurai's entire body. That was all anyone could see in Kurai: The true evil inside the Numbers. The door to Kurai's heart was sealed because of the strength of the negative energy inside the boy's heart.

On the other side of the field, Yuma stared in shock at Kurai. He could sense that so much hate was filled inside of Kurai. Yet, you would know why because Kurai had a terrible early life. That still didn't mean that Kurai had to take his anger out on everyone else!

Astral looked straight into Kurai's body. Numbers 2 and 96's powers possessed most of Kurai's body, which was NOT a good sign. "Yuma! If Numbers 2 and 96's energies increase in Kurai, there is a chance that he will become too dangerous and violent... He will kill everyone he sees..." he said solemnly.

"No... That can't be true!" cried Yuma.

Astral sighed, "I'm sorry, Yuma, but it's too dangerous to be possessed by two or more Numbers! Kurai has to be stopped at all costs! It's now or never!"

"Astral..."

Yuma then gazed into Kurai's eyes. He looked even determined/angrier than before. "Stop this, Kurai! This is just what the Numbers want from you! Don't you get that you're only being used, again? Get it through your head!" he shrieked

The boy cringed, more darkness shrouding his body. He spoke, but his voice became slightly warped. "Kurai can no longer hear you. He is now a part of us, Numbers 2 and 96. Together, with two Numbers and a human, you can't stop us!" snarled a possessed Kurai.

"I don't care what you say! I know that deep down, Kurai is really a good person! How do I know? Because... Kurai is... My friend..." cried Yuma.

"D-did he say... Friend?" wondered Kurai.

"Do not listen to that inconsistent boy, Kurai! He is only trying to trick you!" snapped Number 96.

"96, leave the boy out of this! He has nothing to do with this!" retaliated Number 2.

"SHUT UP AND LET ME DUEL!" yelled Kurai. He turned towards Yuma, pointing. "I already ended my turn, so... Make your move, maggot."

**YUMA: 900**

**KURAI: 1800**

"Heh, I'm glad you even told me it IS my turn! I draw!" called Yuma. "First, I'll summon Gagaga Magician in Attack Mode!"

A man clad in blue armor with orange touch-ups generated into Yuma's side of the field. He looked like Dark Magician, but a lot younger. Most of his face was covered except for his right eye. A tuft of hair covered his left eye.

_Gagaga Magician_

ATK: 1500 ; DEF: 1000

"Gagaga Magician? You've got to be kidding me! It only has 1500 Attack Points!" pointed out Kurai.

Yuma cringed, "I know that, genius! I activate my Spell Card, _Monster Reborn_! Come on back, Gogogo Giant!"

A purple mana-like circle appeared into the field emitting a dark light. A gigantic pair of stony hands came out of the rift and grasped the roof of Heartland Tower tightly, it left dent marks. Then, a towering stone giant pulled itself out of the graveyard. Once it was free from the dead, Gogogo Giant stomped next to Gagaga Magician.

_Gogogo Giant_

ATK: 2000; DEF: 0

Yuma smiled, "Since I have two level 4 monsters, I will Overlay Gagaga Magician and Gogogo Giant!"

Gagaga Magician and Gogogo Giant turned into colorful wisps as they flew into the sky. Both monsters went into the portal opening in the field below. Sparks flew out of the rift as the two monsters can together.

"With these monsters, I Xyz Summon! Come,_ Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope_!" called Yuma.

Yuma's Ace Monster first appeared in a cone shape, but then he shifted parts around. He then appeared as the valiant Number 39.

"Yuma, I will help you and Astral at all costs to defeat Kurai! No more hiding! I am through with running away!" proclaimed Hope. He slid his ginormous swords out of the sword holders at his sides. Each sword was positioned over Hope's shoulders to show his toughness. "Let's hunt those Numbers, Yuma!" clamored Hope.

"Yeah! Get ready for the duel of your life, Kurai, 'cause we're going to take your Numbers!" jeered Yuma. "I can overlay Hope with his own Overlay Units! Then, I can **Chaos Xyz Summon**!"

"Chaos Xyz Summon?" shouted Kurai.

"Now you're getting it!" mocked Yuma sarcastically. "I overlay Number 39: Aspiring Emperor Hope with his own Overlay Units!"

Hope shifted back into a cone shape along with his Overlay Units. Together, the trio of monsters descended inside the purple rift on Yuma's side of the field.

"My comrades, the time has come... To unleash our true power! Are you with me?" spoke Hope.

"Yeah! Let's do it!" cheered Gagaga Magician and Gogogo Golem.

Yuma pulled out a Xyz Monster card from his extra deck. "Come! _Chaos Number 39: Hope Ray_, Warrior of the light, banisher of the darkness!"

A darkened armored version of Hope emerged from the rift, but some of his appearance differed greatly. His armor was mostly charcoal black (not the same shade of black as Demon Tyrant Kaos), complete with ruby red optics, gigantic black wings, and a purple 39 on his right shoulder armor. The mighty monster was now more powerful than ever!

"Yuma, I can feel the power of our bond flowing inside me!" said Hope Ray in astonishment.

"The time has come... I will build the Overlay Network with myself and my friend, Astral!" shouted Yuma.

In an instant, Yuma's body became covered in a red wisp as he flew into the sky.

"Yuma, you're not going alone!" added Astral. "I am done running!" His body became shrouded in a blue light as both human and alien met face-to-face in the dark sky. Astral looked down at Kurai through his shroud. The boy was full of darkness and torment. He could sense that the boy was suffering from pain. It was about time they set Kurai free!

"Yuma! Let's do it!" shouted Astral.

**"KATTOBINGU DA, ORE!"** shouted Yuma.

Yuma and Astral's bodies met as their wisps fused together. As they met face-to-face, the two could feel each other's energies becoming one. Astral's body overlayed with Yuma as they combined into one being. Light emitted from the two as their bodies met, it was so bright, all of Heartland City could see the light.

Down below on the ground, a Number possessed Kurai looked at the action in awe. He covered his eyes, looking at the activity above.

"What is going on?" he demanded.

Kotori peered through her force field prison. She watched with amazement when Yuma and Astral fused together. "Yuma... Save Kurai, please! He is suffering from the darkness!" she cried.

* * *

Inside Heartland Tower...

Anna noticed the bright light emitting from the roof of the tower. She rose from the grassy ground as she hurries towards the window to gaze outside. "Oh my god! Yuma!" she cried.

Behind the bush patch, Shark, Takashi, Tokunosuke, and Tetsuo stared in awe. "What's going on?" they all shouted in sync.

* * *

The light shimmered as the silhouette showed himself to the world. Armor generated onto his body, D-Gazer over one eye, and golden hair with red spikes made up the silhouette's figure. What was peculiar was that he had two different eye colors, one was gold while the other eye was red. At last, the sillhouette showed himself to everyone. His armor shone so brightly in the starry sky, he could be seen all around Heartland City.

Down below on Heartland Tower, Kurai covered his eyes from looking at the light. "W-what is this?" he said in shock.

The armored Duelist hovered back onto his side of the field, crossing his arms. He analyzed his opponent via D-Gazer Darkness filled Kurai's heart, and the two Numbers showed it. Numbers 02 and 96 shimmered in both of Kurai's eyes, indicating their prescence.

"When two distant souls meet, they become one! ZEXAL!" declared both human and Astral Being.

Yuma reached into his D-Pad, touching a golden card. "Only one card can save us all!"

"Do it, Yuma!" said Astral.

**"SHINING DRAW!"** shouted Yuma.

"I summon **Zexal Weapon: Dragon Lance**!" yelled Zexal Yuma.

A golden dragon that resembled a European dragon generated onto the field. It's golden horns and slender body was decorated in armor that resembled a warrior dragon's. The great dragon roared into the sky indicating it's presence.

"ROOAARR!" screeched Dragon Lance.

**ZW: Dragon Lance**

Rank 4

ATK: 2100 DEF: 0

"Now, I'll equip Dragon Lance to Hope Ray!" declared Zexal Yuma.

The Zexal Weapon roared as it began to morph. The dragon changed shape and size as it went under metamorphosis. Light surrounded it during the process. Soon, the light dimmed as the gold creature had transformed into a golden spear. Hope Ray snagged the Zexal Weapon into his hands, along with his mighty sword. He could feel Dragon Lance's power fuse with his own.

_C39: Hope Ray_

ATK: 4600; DEF: 2000

Kurai laughed insanely. "4600 attack points? That won't do a thing to BioDragon!"

**Number 02: BioDragon**

ATK: 5220; DEF: 2000

"That's what you think! Hope Ray's effect activates! One Overlay unit can be sent to the graveyard and Hope Ray will gain 500 attack points!"

"You're bluffing!" said Kurai.

Hope Ray released one Overlay unit to send to the graveyard. He raised his sword as power flowed inside of him.

C39: Hope Ray

ATK: 5100; DEF: 2000

"I activate my Spell Card, _Blistering Winds_! Hope Ray gains 1000 additional attack points until the end of my turn!"

C39: Hope Ray

ATK: 6100; DEF: 2000

"6100 ATTACK?" shouted an exasperated Kurai.

Yuma scowled back at his enemy, crossing his arms. "There's more to Hope Ray's effect you don't know! One monster YOU control loses 1000 attack points until the End Phase! Since I have less than 1000 life points, I can use this effect! Face it, Kurai! Your reign as a tyrant is over!"

Number 2: BioDragon

ATK: 4220; DEF: 2000

Hope Ray grunted as he fused ZW Dragon Lance with his sword, fusing into a gigantic golden sword. More power flowed into his body even more.

"Number 02, your time has come! Perish into the darkness! " roared Hope Ray.

"Number 39, I have underestimated you. You're a worthy opponent... Until we meet again..." said BioDragon.

"Go, Hope Ray! **RISING HEAVENLY WAVE**!"

Hope Ray swung his golden sword at BioDragon, emitting a wave of light. It beamed like a wave, moving up and down in a fast motion. BioDragon's optics registered that a light was approaching, but he couldn't do anything due to him being frozen in fear.

CLASH!

Hope Ray's sword energy struck the Number's oxygen tank. When the energy hit the tank, a crack spread through the center of it. It fell apart, shattering into many pieces.

BioDragon shrieked in pain soon as the oxygen tank began to fall apart, oxygen stopped flowing through the pipes. Then, the vile Number started to lose its breath as he slowly shut down. Finally, the tank exploded and the oxygen spilled from the sides. As a result, BioDragon collapsed into the ground and disintegrated into yellow pixels.

Kurai fell backwards from the impact, knocking him into the ground. He felt his power decreasing after BioDragon had been destroyed. **"No... No... NO00! HOW COULD I LOSE TO SOMEONE LIKE YOU? I HAD THE PERFECT MONSTER!"**

With that, all of Kurai's life points dropped to zero.

**YUMA: 900 LP- Win**

**KURAI: 0 LP- Lose**

* * *

**Photon Finex: I can't believe it... YUMA WON! HALLELUJAH! This was my first time writing a duel. I apologize deeply if I made any mistakes, or if I made Hope Ray's attack too high (unless there is a monster with an attack that high). Overall, I am very proud of Yuma! This story is almost over, only a few chapters left!**

**Yuma: Thanks! Come on, Astral! We still have more work to do!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

**Welp, this story is coming close to and end. I am happy/sad at the same time because the "The Shadow of Yuma" is my first fanfic, and I believe that this is one of my best masterpieces.**

**About 'Girl Fight,' that will have to be on hold until I finish this story. I will probably continue to update 'Baby Yuma Drabbles,' plus I have tons of more story ideas.**

**Enough with me, read on!**  
***presents a nicely decorated cake***

**Tron: CAKE!**

* * *

Rain began to pour throughout Heartland City after what could have been the most dangerous Duel. Most of the citizens who were witnessing the strange light* retreated back inside their homes to flee from the rain.

Upon Heartland Tower, Yuma gazed upon an unconscious Kurai as the AR Vision disintegrated. The boy who was out cold laid on the steel roof with his arms and legs spread out. His Dragoon armor disappeared, along with his D-Gazer tattoo. Kurai's street clothes replaced the Dragoon armor as it disintegrated with the monsters and AR.

"Ugh…." moaned Kurai.

"Yuma… It's time. We must take back Kurai's Numbers," said Astral.

"Yeah," replied Yuma.

Astral opened his hand do all of his fingers could stretch out. Once his hand was ready, he began the Number draining process. Power flowed through Astral's hands, retracting the Numbers from Kurai's body.

"Numbers 2 and 96, leave the boy now! He is no longer any use to you! Begone!" chanted Astral.

**"No… I was so close!"** shrieked 96, as he was being pulled away from Kurai's body.

**"I….. Regret forcing the boy to do terrible things in the first place,"** said 02 solemnly.

_Don't blame yourself, Number 2, you had no intention of forcing Kurai to perform insane antics,_ replied Astral telepathically.

Kurai moaned in pain as both Numbers 2 and 96 ascended in card form from his body. He clenched bid fits tightly whilst feeling slight tingling from the Numbers.

"Rrggh…" he groaned.

Yuma knelt down by Kurai's side. He gently stroked the boy's hair. "Kurai… Stop this, you're no longer possessed by any Numbers," he soothed.

Numbers 2 and 96 were soon pulled away from Kurai by Astral's Number Grab technique. Both cards flew into the spirit's hands.

**BANG! BANG! BANG!**

The sound quickly snapped Yuma and Astral out of their thoughts. They gazed around the rooftop of Heartland Tower to find a green-haired girl slamming her fist against a force field.

"Helloooo! Can someone get me out of here?" cried Kotori. She banged and banged on the force field, in hopes of freeing herself.

Yuma's ears perked up at Kotori's face. He looked away from Kurai to find the greenete pounding on the force field. "Ah, Kotori! Hang on, I'm gonna get you out of there!" he said in determination, running to Kotori's prison.

By the time Yuma even got to his friend's prison, it began to slowly disintegrate. Kotori winced in surprise, which made her tumble a little. Yuma responded rapidly by catching her.

"I got you," he said slyly, helping his friend hold her stance.

**((A/N: This is my first attempt at writing romance. I apologize if the scene sounds a little cheesy.))**

Both teens then gazed into each other's eyes lovingly. Yuma and Kotori looked at each other's faces with passion. Unknown to Kotori, Yuma's heart beat rapidly with nervousness. None the less, he stood confidently and began to speak.

"Kotori… There's been something I've been wanting to tell you for a long time," whispered Yuma. He looked straight into the girl's hazel eyes. "I like you… I've liked you ever since he day we met. You are my best friend, and I want to be more than friends," he confessed lovingly.

Kotori's heart raced rapidly. She felt everything disappear the moment she heard those exact words. Suddenly, everything fell into place. She came back to her senses. With courage, she said, "Yuma….. I love you… What I like about you is-"

"Go on, finish what you were about to say," spat a malicious voice.

Kotori recoiled in surprise to find someone she thought she'd never see again **RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER IN YUMA'S PLACE.**

"K-K-Kurai? I-I th-thought you were-"

"Out cold?" finished Kurai. "Heh, guess again, babe! You and I are gonna be together forever and ever and ever…." he said venomously, placing emphasis on 'forever'.

"No! This can't be happening! Get away and stay away from me!" shrieked Kotori.

With anger, she slugged Kurai, right in the face. He fell back in surprise, his arms flailed as he tried to balance himself. Thinking quickly, Kotori rammed right into Kurai' stomach and pinned him on the ground.

**"DON'T. TELL. ME. WHAT. TO. DO. EVER. AGAIN,"** spat Kotori in anger. **"DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"**

"Why the hell should I listen to a girl like you?"

**WHAM!**

* * *

"Kotori! What are you doing?"

Suddenly, everything came into reality. Kotori snapped out only to realize she was in a trance. She gasped in horror at who she was really slugging.

She looked in horror to find a bruise forming around **YUMA'S** left eye. He moaned weakly as he coughed up some blood. Yuma looked back at his friend in hurt. "Kotori, if this is the way you feel about me-"

"What the hell did I do? Oh my god.. When I look at you, I only see Kurai instead. I never meant to hurt you in any way…" she cried, tears falling from her eyes.

Kotori embraced Yuma very tightly, as if she needed protection. "I am so sorry I made you feel hurt. I'm such a terrible friend…" she cried.

Yuma responded by embracing her back. He carefully positioned himself to sit upright. "I will always be here for you. If that jerk even comes back, I'll make sure he **NEVER** touches you again," he whispered carefully brushing his hands on her back.

"Thank you, Yuma," Kotori whispered back. She lightly pressed her hand against Yuma's bruise. "Did I hurt you too hard?"

"No, it's only a bruise, Kotori," replied Yuma, attempting to flash a small smile.

Kotori sighed. "Yuma, listen, I like you too…. But I can't do this, not after what Kurai put me through. I'm so sorry, Yuma," she confessed solemnly. "Please understand, you don't know what Kurai did to force me to marry him."

"I-I understand, Kotori.. I'm sorry if I sounded a little hasty," said Yuma apologetically.

"Yuma…." whispered Kotori, as she fell into Yuma's arms. Tears flowed even more down her face. "I'm sorry too…" she stuttered hoarsely.

Astral watched both teens in the distance. He floated in his usual position with his arms crossed. His focus couldn't leave Kurai. He couldnt pry his attention away from the boy's unconscious body. _Kurai Tsukumo, what exactly are you? What is your REAL purpose for coming to Heartland City? Why did Dark Mist specifically allow you to ally with him?_

**"HELLO? SOMEBODY!"** shrieked multiple voices.

Both teens and Astral perked up at the loudness of the voices. It echoed loudly based on the location.

"What was that?" shouted Yuma, carefully sitting up.

"It came from over there!" realized Kotori, pointing towards a dangling pole northwest of the two.

In a flash, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral darted towards the steel pole. They stretched over the edge of Heartland Tower to gaze upon the city's view.

"Hey! Look down!" shouted the voice once more.

Yuma peered down towards the source of the voice. Realization hit him when he noticed that a cage was dangling and he could see that people were inside it.

Yuma cupped his hands and shouted, "Oy! Who's in there?"

* * *

Below inside the cage, Mr. Heartland began to slightly turn green due to the swaying of the cage. He held his stomach as he tried to sooth the pain. "Ugh…. I don't feel so good…" he moaned.

"Don't puke on ME, you idiot!" cringed Dr. Faker, moving a few inches away from the queasy man.

"Did you forget to take your diarrhea meds, AGAIN, Mr. Heartland?" moaned Droite.

Mr. H groaned as he held his stomach, resisting to vomit.

"No…" he moaned weakly.

"You're lying, I can sense it. Take your damn meds-"

"Or else what?"

"I will personally make sure you take your medicine EVERY SINGLE day."

Suddenly, Yuma's voice echoed into the cage. Luckily, he had shouted loud enough for the adults to hear.

"Oy! Who's in there?" echoed the voice.

All of the adults' ears perked up.

"Is that who I think it is?" said Faker.

"Humph, you tell me," said Droite cooly.

"Ugh….. Yeah, it him alright…" moaned Mr. H.

Gauche peered through the bars and yelled, "Yuma! It's Gauche!"

"Gauche?" shouted Kotori and Astral.

"There's no time for explanation! Can you get us out of here?" continued Gauche.

Yuma yelled back, "I don't know how to make the cage rise!"

"Yuma! Listen to me, this is Faker! I understand you and your friends don't trust me, but you're going to have to trust me on this one!" shouts the doctor.

"Alright, just this once!" shouted Yuma.

"Do you see a black lever in the left side of the pole holding the cage? Pull the switch until it stops at 'UP'. Do you understand?" boomed Faker.

Yuma nodded, placing his hand into the handle like Dr. Faker described. "Yeah, you've got my word! I'll get you out of here! Let's see…. Pull! Ugh!"

Astral sat to the side as he crossed his arms. I wish I could help Yuma, but I can't psychically touch anything. It's up to him and Kotori to get the adults to safety.

Kotori ran behind Yuma and place her hands onto the boy's stomach as she helped him pull the switch. "Ugh! Come on, move! This lever's hard to pull!" she grunted.

"Don't give up, Kotori! PULL!" encouraged Yuma, pulling harder on the lever.

Finally, the lever gave in and moved from 'DOWN' to 'UP.' Inside the cage below, the adults could feel themselves coming back to the surface.

"Those kids did it…. I still hate them… I want to get out of this stupid cage! I'm starting to feel even more queasy…" groaned Mr. H, holding his face as it slightly turned a darker shade of green. "Oh, crap! I'm think I'm going to- MOVE!"

The rest of the adults moved to the side as Mr. Heartland quickly ran towards an open space in the side of the cage. He sat on his knees as he vomited through the steel bars. The mayor looked even sicker than before. "Damn, I forgot to take my medicine again.." he muttered.

"Yeah, he's lost it," groaned Faker, jerking his thumb towards the sick man.

"Every minute I'm in here with you morons, I feel less intelligent; and Heartland DID forget to consume his medicine, again," said Droit.

"Shut up!" snapped Gauche. "At least we're FINALLY leaving this nuthouse!"

Back on the top, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral watched in amazement as they witnessed the adults' prison rise onto the steel roof. Dr. Faker, Droit, and Gauche appeared to be unharmed, but something was off with Mr. Heartland.

"Uh….. Is Mr. Heartland okay? He doesn't look healthy," noted Kotori, while looking at Mr. H's green face.

Mr. Heartland struggled to speak, but he managed to say, "I-I'm fine, just get me out of here! I get motion sickness easily," he moaned, holding his stomach.

WHIRR!

The adults and the teens looked into the sky to find Anna and the rest of the boys (who were covered by a large blanket) on her Flying Launcher. Anna turned around and winked at Yuma, as if she was saying, "Thanks, Yuma."

After adults were released and waking on the roof, Yuma noticed something was odd about them. Faker tossed the keys to his lab to Droit, but it only landed an inch in front of him.

"Oy, Faker! I can throw better than you!" joked Yuma.

Kotori pulled on Yuma's ear. "Don't make fun of him!" she snapped.

"OW! I was only joking!"

"I figured something like this would happen because of the drug Kurai injected us with,*" said Dr. Faker, ignoring Yuma as he scrambled in the roof for his keys. "I can't see that well like before. Everything is too distorted! Droit, go get me my keys!" he commanded.

Droit dropped to the floor and picked up the keys. She handed them to the doctor. "I can see just fine. Why don't you throw better?" she huffed.

"How come you're not suffering from side effects?" asked Kotori

"The only thing I remember was getting punched in the face by a boy that looked like Yuma. I never felt anything jab into my neck," replied the Butterfly Duelist.

"Droit, when did you change into such a lovely butterfly dress? You look like an angel," yawned a drowsy, distorted Gauche.

"I'm NOT wearing a dress, and I wouldn't be caught dead in one EVER," hissed the woman.

At that moment, a loud thud caught everyone's attention. Mr. H fell onto the roof, not moving an inch. Then came the noise that indicated he was okay.

"Zzzzzzzz….." snored Mr. H.

Droit knelt down by the man and felt his head. "Looks like he'll be sleeping for a while. If you'll excuse me, I have two other morons to take care of," muttered the woman. Before she left, she picked up the Diamond Heart (which was unharmed) and she turned to Yuma, "Thanks." With that, Droit slung Mr. H over her shoulders and Dr. Faker clumsily walked to the exit, with Gauche holding onto Droit's arm.

* * *

After the adults descended into the tower, Yuma, Kotori, and Astral felt a huge weight of relief come back to them.

"It's over…. We won!" cried Yuma, hugging Kotori by her sides.

Kotori smiled back. "Yeah! But, what are we supposed to do with Kurai?" she mentioned, jerking her thumb towards the unconscious boy.

"Ooh, I never thought about that…" muttered Yuma. He slowly approached Kurai, taking caution. He placed one hand on Kurai's arm and gently shook it.

"Kurai? Can you hear me?" he asked. "If so, will you- HYUK!"

Suddenly Yuma felt his wrist gripped very tightly. He tried to pull back, but the grip was too strong. He fell onto the ground as he felt his arm being pulled. "What the hell?" he shouted.

To Yuma, Kotori, and Astral's horror, they feared the worst had hoist happened. Kurai raised his head from the ground. He growled loudly as he stood up, brushing the dirt off of his clothes. His eyes were more slit then before. They looked like Yuma's eyes when he was first "possessed" by Dark Mist.** Kurai's teeth were appeared to look like wolf fangs and they were very sharp. The boy scowled angrily at Yuma, his gaze not leaving the boy.

"You no-good son of a bitch! I had all of the glory, then YOU HAD TO COME AND TRASH MY DREAMS!" yelled Kurai.

Yuma and Kotori were taken back by Kurai's sudden outburst. The boy continued his rant. "I had everything...** THEN YOU AND YOUR STUPID FRIEND THREW IT ALL AWAY FROM ME! WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT?**"

"Hold on, YOU were the one who tried to murder some people, force Kotori to marry you, and you stole Hope from me! What kind of monster are you? ANSWER ME!" yelled Yuma.

No answer.

"I didn't want to do this, but for once, STOP THIS!" screeched Yuma.

With no shame at all, Yuma slapped Kurai right across his face. Kurai tumbled back as he held his stinging cheek. He growled, "You maggot… You're gonna be sorry you even did that to me… RARGH!"

In a rampage, Kurai ran into Yuma's stomach, knocking him onto the ground. Behind the boys, Kotori and Astral shrieked in surprise.

"YUMA!"

The mentioned boy groaned as he tried to get up, but he felt Kurai sitting on his legs. Kurai held down Yuma's legs tightly with his own so he couldn't try to escape.

"If I can't be king, then **YOU DESERVE TO DIE!**" Kurai shrieked. He raised a fist and punched Yuma in the face.

"OW!" cried Yuma. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't. You. Ever. Stop. Talking?" growled Kurai. "You're like a bug that never goes away!"

"It's not my fault you're a freak!"

Suddenly, Kurai raised his body upward and he froze still like a mannequin. His eyes went inside his head, showing only the whites with red veins. He then whispered in a hoarse voice, "Just be yourself and she'll love you again. Just be yourself and she'll love you again."

Yuma and Kotori looked at Kurai in a confused expression.

"What's wrong with Kurai? His eyes are like, completely white!" pointed out Kotori.

"I don't know! All I did was call him a freak, then he went buggo! He never did this before, only now!" cried Yuma.

Astral observed Kurai's behavior intensely. He studied the way Kurai's body froze like record player and how his eyes only showed the red veins, no iris. What caught his attention was that Kurai's body slowly twitched like crazy. _I remember seeing something like this on a criminal TV show on the magic box! There was this one criminal who did the same thing, except he said, "Just be yourself and she'll like you." If I recall, the criminal was suffering a psychotic episode. How did the detective get him to freak out…. Wait…. He reminded the criminal of his** FIRST KILL!** If Yuma could remind Kurai of how his mother abandoned him, maybe that could be his actual weak point!_

"Yuma! Listen to me carefully! Kurai is going through a psychotic episode! This may be risky, but you need to remind him that his mother abandoned him! Paint a picture in his head!" shouted Astral.

"All I need to do is piss him off? It's worth a shot!" yelled back Yuma.

"Yuma, be careful! Kurai's dangerous!" cried Kotori.

"I'll be fine!"

Yuma took a deep breath. Okay… Here goes nothing…

"Kurai, I heard that your mother didn't want you because she thought you were a FREAK!" jeered Yuma.

"Stop it! Stop it!" snapped Kurai, still in his buggo trance.

Yuma scoffed, before winking at Kotori and Astral. He continued his jeer, "I bet that your mother never liked you, because you were a STAIN!"

Anger filled a full-blown psychotic, mind-tranced Kurai. Taunts, bad memories, and every instance of him being called a freak or a stain took over his mind.

**"SHUT UP, SHUT UP, SHUT UP!"** he shrieked crazily, glaring angrily at Yuma. "You will DIE!"

Kurai charged like a bull, running straight to Yuma. Thinking quickly, Yuma stretched out one leg and luckily for him, the evil boy tripped and fell back onto the ground. "UGHH!" he groaned.

CLANG!

A flare gun slid out of Kurai's jacket after he had tripped. It flung on the roof away from him. Yuma smiled because he realized his enemy was now defenseless.

"Now's my chance! Kurai! It's time you paid for all the horrible things you did to everyone! You wanted this fate, and don't even think of trying to run away!" Yuma looked at Kotori, pointing towards Kurai's flare gun. "Kotori, get Kurai's flare gun!"

"Yeah!" replied Kotori. In a flash, she quickly picked up the weapon and steadied it. However, she noticed there was only ONE flare inside. "Yuma! We only have once shot to get this right!"

"When I give the signal, I want you to fire at Kurai! Do you understand?" said Yuma.

"I understand! Hurry! Kurai's about to snap out of his trance!" cried the greenete.

Kurai slowly moaned as he held his head. He looked like a wasted person, except he had a little more sense. His back was facing Yuma and Kotori, which was a good thing. "Damn, what happened? The last thing I remember was-"

**"NOW, KOTORI!"** shouted Yuma.

Kotori sneered as she placed her finger on the flare gun trigger. "I don't regret this one bit! Say goodnight, Kurai!"

**WHOOSH!**

Kurai's ears perked up at the sound of the whoosh. He turned around quickly to realize that a flare was coming STRAIGHT AT HIM. Unfortunately, he was too frozen in fear to move. **_Damn you, Yuma! I HATE YOU!_**

BAM!

The next thing Kurai knew, he felt a flare push itself right through his chest. Thunder clashed the moment the flare targeted him. It felt like a cannon blasting through your chest, except it was hotter. Blood spewed out of his chest like a bursting pipe. It splattered everywhere due to the impact of the flare. Kurai felt his entire body temperature increase, then his mind started to shut down.

_No… I lost... Again…._

With one last breath, Kurai fell head first onto the roof. His heart gave out, and he died in peace and anguish.

* * *

Yuma, Kotori, and Astral panted heavily as they looked at Kurai's bloody corpse. A bloody hole about the size of a baseball showed that the flare had torn through Kurai's heart. The rain spread the pool of blood surrounded the corpse, which grossed out Yuma and Kotori.

"We just killed Kurai.. Was it the right thing to do?" wondered Yuma, looking over Kurai's body.

Kotori placed her hand on Yuma's shoulder. She was slightly mentally  
scarred from the event, but overall, she was OK because she was happy that Kurai couldn't hurt anyone ever again. "Kurai was a terrible person, but he wanted this fate," she said.

Astral noticed that it began to rain even harder in the sky. Slowly, the blood poured down the sides of Heartland Tower, leaving Kurai's dead body with no blood. He shook his head with disgust.

_"Kurai Tsukumo, what was your real motivation? Why did you come to Yuma's world? There are so many things I wish I could've asked you…"_

* * *

***plays ominous music***

**You were probably not expecting this fate to happen to Kurai, but yes, the unspeakable has happened! Take that, Kurai! Yuma always wins!**

* * *

***Chapter 10**  
****Episode 20 of Zexal**


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

**Oh yeah! The story is almost complete! Why don't we see how life is for everyone after the whole Kurai incident?**

* * *

**"This is just in! The boy who we thought was Yuma Tsukumo has been identified as Kurai Tsukumo. Our sources say that Yuma invaded Heartland Tower with his friend, Anna Kozuki. After Kozuki had departed to return kidnapped friends, Tsukumo stopped Kurai Tsukumo, along with Kotori Mizuki, from possibly taking over Heartland City. A Number card that was also stolen by Kurai was given to Yuma by the museum director as a thank you. Heartland Police have found Kurai's body on Heartland Tower and they have decided to bury it at Heartland Cemetery, which will be isolated on a hill away from the rest of the graves. I'm Colton Givey, and this is Heartland City News! Back to you, Sarita Madrid!"**

Astral looked away from the magic box on the attic floor to look at Yuma. The boy has been through so much trouble, and now, it was all over. Astral hovered to the hammock and began to watch Yuma in his sleep. Yuma appeared to be more content than ever, just to be back in his home, surrounded by his family and friends again, and no more worrying about Kurai.

_Yuma, it feels good to be back home with you. I feel ashamed for hiding from you after Kurai had attacked you in the alley. But, I'm not going to let that ruin the time I have left with you. You have a long future ahead of you..._

* * *

"DARN IT, I'M LATE AGAIN!"

Yuma ran down the stairs in a hurry while adjusting his tie. As usual, the boy had woken up late for school. Even after saving the world, he was still late for school. After finishing adjusting his tie, he put his shoes on while running by Akari.

"Bye sis, I'm off to school!" he called.

Akari looked up from her various tablets and gave a smile at her brother. "Have a good day at school, little brother!"

Yuma gave a thumbs-up. "Yeah!"

The boy ran outside and into the front yard. The sun shone brightly in Heartland City as the morning began to commence. It was never this peaceful before in Heartland. For some reason, it made Yuma smile even more.

Haru was out sweeping the front yard along with Obomi. The small lady contently swept the yard as she watched her grandson emerge from the front door. A smile spread onto her face as she watched a gleeful Yuma jump onto the pavement.

"Bye, Grandma!" waved Yuma.

"Yuma, Duel Lunch!" chirped Obomi. She tossed a package of rice balls at the eager Yuma. "You suck!"

"There's the Litterbot I miss," joked Yuma.

"Dear, don't forget to eat your Duel Lunch!" chirped Haru. "You're going to need it for your duels, hero!"

"Aw, Grandma, you're flattering me too much!" blushed Yuma.

* * *

A few blocks away, Kotori, Tetsuo, Cathy, and Tokunosuke walked to school together while waiting for Yuma. The kids were all involved in the whole Kurai incident, but they were moving along. So far, Kurai really wasn't bothering them mentally anymore since he had died. Since Kurai and Yuma had similar appearances, there were times when them, teachers, and classmates would stare at Yuma. After a few days, everyone eased down to accept the fact that Yuma's imposter was dead for good.

"I can't believe that there was a boy impersonating Yuma and causing trouble all over school!" chirped Cathy.

"Tell me about it," sighed Kotori, placing a hand on her face. "One minute, Kurai pretends to be Yuma. The next minute, he thinks he's king of Heartland! Out of all girls in the world, Kurai chose ME to be his queen! How insane is that guy?"

Tokunosuke spoke up, "Oy, Kotori-chan, didn't Kurai give you a ring to marry him, ura?"

Kotori looked at her left hand sadly. On her ring finger, the diamond ring Kurai forced onto her hand still sat on her finger. Luckily, her mother had scheduled an appointment to remove the ring after school today. She was happy to finally get the jewel off, because the ring was starting to put pressure into her hand.

"Yeah, Kurai did force me to marry him, but that wedding certificate wasn't even real! So, in other words, I'm still a free woman!" answered Kotori.

Up by the stop sign, Takashi walked down the street handcuffed to a girl. When the Class Rep spotted his friends, he happily ran towards them, but the girl pulled in the handcuffs to signal him to slow down.

"Can't you be patient?" snapped Takashi.

"If you didn't have a salty cracker addiction, then maybe I would!" retaliated the girl.

"Oy, Takashi-kun!" shouted Kotori.

The group approached Takashi to find him handcuffed to an all-familiar girl. Her poofy, pink-orange hair stood out from everyone else's, which made her more recognizable.

"Anna? Why are you handcuffed to Takashi-kun?" asked Kotori.

"Is he your boyfriend?" said Tetsuo.

"NO, Takashi is NOT my boyfriend! His parents hired me to help him get over his salty cracker addiction, ever since he turned into a parrot," grunted Anna.

"I know that, woman! To summarize, you are being too bossy! Give me a cracker, pleeasse!" cried Takashi.

Yawning, Tetsuo opened his backpack and pulled out a paper bag. He opened the sack and the contents inside surprised his friends. Inside the brown bag was green grass. Tetsuo snatched a bunch of grass and chewed it like a horse.

"Why are YOU eating grass?" cried Cathy, pointing at Tetsuo's unusual snack.

Tetsuo shrugged. "I guess being a mountain goat made me crave grass. I was sharing Pocky with Tetsuko, then I ran into the front yard and started eating the grass."

Suddenly, Kotori felt something move in her hair. She cringed, then felt around for anything on her head. Something moved around quickly on her hair. "Oh god… There's something moving in my hair!" Kotori shrieked, swatting at her head. "Go away, shoo!"

"OW! WATCH IT, URA!"

Tokunosuke fell off of Kotori's head and landed onto the ground. The short boy rubbed his head, "Is that the way to thank someone who is cleaning your head, ura?" he cried.

"You mean….. You were eating…. BUGS OUT OF MY HAIR?" shrieked the greenette. "That's just so gross!"

"I can't help it! After I became a monkey, I can't stop eating bananas and out of people's hair!" said Tokunosuke.

Kotori sighed. "Whatever, but could you stop doing that around me? I'm sorry, but it's grossing me out!"

Suddenly, a thought popped into the green-haired girl's head. Hold on, wasn't there someone else that became an animal? There was Tokunosuke, Takashi, and Tetsuo… Shark!

"Where's Shark? Has anyone seen him since, you know?" asked Kotori abruptly.

Cathy's eyes lit up in surprise. She set down her bag and pulled out a newspaper. "Didn't you hear, cat? Shark is in the hospital for food poisoning!"

All of the kids looked at the headline of the paper: **RYOGA KAMISHIRO IN HOSPITAL FOR CONSUMING RAW MEAT.**

The kids looked closely at the picture to see Shark vomiting in a plastic box.

"Ew, who eats raw meat?" gagged Anna. A thought of Shark eating raw meat at a restaurant popped into her mind. He ate the food like a savage beast with his bare hands. "Now I remember! Ryoga became smelly purple panther! Heh, no wonder he got sick from food poisoning."

A moving spot in the sky caught Kotori's attention. She gazed to the atmosphere to find a familiar blond-green-haired boy soaring with Orbital-7 and Haruto. The boy looked straight at Kotori, then turned away, proceeding to his flight.

"Kaito.." whispered Kotori.

"OY!" shouted a loud voice.

All of the kids ceased action after they heard a familiar voice. Soon enough, a spiky-haired boy jumped into view in front of his friends. A smile spread across his face as he looked at his friends. He placed his arms behind his head.

"Anybody miss me? Don't tell me you had all the fun with dueling!" he teased.

"YUMA!" cried everyone, huddling around the boy.

Yuma couldn't help but accept the attention and concern he was receiving from his friends. Sure, he saved the world, but that didn't stop the flattery and press coming to him. "Everyone, thank you for sticking by me. I don't know where I'd be if you didn't help me during the whole Kurai incident! I don't know what to say…"

"No, Yuma, thank you for saving US!" replied all of his friends.

"I don't understand," said Yuma.

Takashi was the first to make a gesture to speak. With Anna's approval, he walked towards Yuma and set his handcuffed-free hand onto Yuma's shoulder.

"Yuma-kun, you freed me, Tetsuo, Tokunosuke, and Shark from a curse! I wasn't really happy being a parrot. All I could eat we're fruit and salty crackers-"

Takashi stopped mid sentence when he noticed that Anna glared at him. Looking at Anna nervously, he continued, "I-I-I mean, to summarize, you saved us all! You're a hero, Yuma!"

Yuma was astounded by Takashi's speech. He had spoken for everyone, and well, he did a marvelous job representing the whole group. Everyone smiled at Yuma as a sign of appreciation and friendship. Yuma was very grateful to have all of these teens in front of him as his friends. If he had to pick, Yuma would risk his own life to save his friends, no matter how dangerous the situation was.

"Last one to class has to do my cleaning duty after school! See ya later, slowpokes!" teased Yuma.

Yuma dashed off towards school like an excited little kid going to the candy store. He couldn't ask for anything better. He had everything he wanted: His friends, family, and Astral. To be honest, Astral was the best thing that ever happened to him; because he gained a new friend after a Number was retrieved.

Behind Yuma, he could hear Kotori and the others catching up behind him (except Takashi, who was still handcuffed to Anna), cheerfully racing along with him.

"Yuuumma! Wait up!"

"You're going too fast!"

"Wait up, ura!"

"Nya, you're a lot faster than I thought!"

Yuma smiled as the sun shone brightly over him. He felt relieved because peace had returned to Heartland City, and he wasn't going to let anything ruin his day. His sunny attitude always kept him from feeling down. Closing his eyes, Yuma took a deep breath. Like the Duelust he was, freeing people from Numbers and eliminating hate from people's hearts, Yuma shouted loudly into the sky,** "KATTOBINGU DA, ORE!"**

* * *

Astral observed all of the Number Cards he and Yuma had collected throughout their journey inside of the Lord's Key. Most of the Numbers' dark power had dispersed after he had retrieved them from their possessors' bodies. Now, they were harmless Numbers. Astral looked at the two new Number Cards resting in his hands: **Number 2: BioDragon**, and Number 96: Dark Mist. BioDragon's card was soon released into the subspace to be with the other Numbers. However, Astral refused to let Number 96 near any other Numbers.

"Dark Mist, you make me sick," scowled Astral. He stared at the image of a bull-like monster. All he could see from the creature was hatred. "No matter how hard I try to forget you, there is already too much damage done to me and mu human companions. You strangled Yuma, and forced Hope to change into a Dark Number!" he spat, gripping Number 96's card even harder. "This time, I am locking you away so you cannot harm anyone ever again.

Miles away from the ship, Astral reached his destination. A lone box sat on the ground in the sandy floor. It appeared a little rusty, but everything else was in good condition. Astral pulled a key out of his body and opened the box. Once it opened, he placed Dark Mist inside a special container and sealed him inside the glass. Then the box became sealed heavily.

_This glass is unbreakable, since it is made from Gold Dust, which is also unable to be destroyed. Dark Mist, it is you who wanted this fate. You can either accept it, or be destroyed for good. I don't have time for you anymore. Goodbye, Number 96._

Astral looked back at the box. He turned away from the box and let go of the past with the psychotic 96.

"I have more important things to worry about, like Yuma. He and I have Numbers to collect. I still have more memories to retrieve. I'll never look back at you, Dark Mist, because I have no regrets. Time does not wait for me any longer. I will choose to go my own way."

In the blink of an eye, Astral disappeared from the deserted subspace, leaving a isolated Dark Mist imprisoned inside a seal for eternity.

* * *

**Dang, who knew "The Shadow of Yuma" would come to an end like this? I am happy and sad because I felt like this is possibly the best story I had ever written. But, the story is NOT over yet! The epilogue will be posted shortly!**

**Author-made cards:  
**

*ZW: Dragon Lance

Level 4

Beast/Effect

ATK: 2100 DEF: 0

-You can equip this card to C39 Utopia Ray when this card is on the field. Utopia Ray's ATK increases by 2100. You can only control one ZW: Dragon Lance.

* Number 02: BioDragon

Level 5

Dragon/Effect

ATK: 1000; DEF: 2000

3 Level 5 Monsters

You can discard one Overlay Unit to steal every Attack Point from ALL of your opponent's monsters. This effect can ONLY be used when your opponent has monsters with 2000 or more attack points.


	25. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

**Welp, this is the VERY LAST and FINAL chapter for this story! I have had so much fun with this fanfic, and I'm glad others got to read my story. Enjoy the epilogue!**

**Update: Those of you who like the Tron family, check out my story "Special Illusion"! :D **

A lone woman named Mariah entered Heartland City Cemetery in solemn silence. The female's quietness showed that she was in a depressed mood. A black hooded robe covered most of her body and her face. Not even the moon's light showed her face. She lowered her head as she walked past the rows of gravestones at both of her sides. She had no care for the other graves, there was only one specific grave that she seeked.

"That lone grave…. on that hill…. It is there," said Mariah quietly. "I must get there now!"

* * *

After passing more rows of graves beneath the hill, Mariah climbed up the stairs. She was in awe as she stated at a marble white building in front of her. Placing her hand on the door, she felt an essence from the other side. Taking a deep breath, the cloaked woman slowly opened the door.

The tomb was empty and was newly built. There was nothing inside to decorate the tomb. In the middle of the room laid a brown coffin on top of a stone altar.

"Oh my… I never knew his tomb would be like this…. So lonely and isolated…." whispered Mariah, a hint of sadness in her voice.

Below the coffin rested a plaque. Kneeling down, the woman read each and every word etched into the copper.

**KURAI TSUKUMO**  
**1995-2012**

"No….." whispered Mariah hoarsely. She shook and shook reading word after word. Her mind raced intensely, she began to slightly hyperventilate. Not willing to hold in her feelings, the woman lost her patience. She slammed her fist against the plaque in hurt and in confusion.

In desperation, the tear-stained Mariah quickly moved the flowers covering the top of the coffin. Slowly, she took a deep breath and lifted the top.

Inside the coffin laid a deceased Kurai. His chest had been stitched to conceal the hole where he was shot by Kotori. Most of his clothes remained intact, and in his hands laid a small white rose. His eyes remained shut for what seemed like eternity.

The woman gasped and breathed heavily in shock and grief by the sight of seeing Kurai's dead body. She placed her hand over Kurai's heart.

"Don't tell me you're dead, don't tell me you're dead," she repeated over and over in sadnesses.

Sadly, she felt no heartbeat at all. Kurai showed no signs of breathing, and she had to accept that he was no longer alive.

Sighing, Mariah decided to lower her hood. Her face could finally be revealed. She was a beautiful woman with long, flowing blue hair, and her hair tips had a dash of red. Her ruby red eyes were filled with tears as she looked at the body even more. Overall, she looked somewhat like Yuma's mother.

The dark-haired woman slung her head on Kurai's chest, releasing every tear she dispersed. Her hands grasped around the silver Lord's Key. "I remember leaving this Key with you when you were a baby. It was one of my most important possessions. I am surprised you would hold onto this…"

As Mariah moved her hands around Kurai's body, they came in contact with the boy's chest scars. They felt rugged and soft, but she could see the marks it left. "Kurai, I am so sorry," Mariah stuttered between tears, "I-I-I never should've left you at that orphanage after you were born. What kind of mother am I to my only child? I abandoned you when you were just born, and the next time I finally see you again, you're…. Dead."

"It is your fault Kurai is dead," sneered a mocking voice.

Mariah quickly shut the coffin's top in fear and scanned the entire tomb. The door was still open, but Kurai's tomb was dimly lit. Anger built up inside of the upset and hurt mother.

"Whoever you are, can't you see that my only child is DEAD? Have you no respect for a grieving mother? How would you feel if you never saw your son again for fifteen freaking years? ANSWER ME!" shouted Mariah angrily.

To Mariah's surprise, a silhouette dropped from the roof. When the silhouette steeped into the moonlight, the woman could tell that the figure was dressed all in black, and a mask resembling Keaton the Ghost Fox covered the mystery person's face. Behind the mask, a smirk spread across the wearer's face.

"Hello….. Mariah Tsukumo…. It's been too long since I finally meet you….. So, I heard that you are at fault for Kurai's death. Is this true?" mocked the figure.

Mariah flinched at the shadow's statement. She held back tears and boldly shouted, "Stop that! It is NOT my fault my only son is dead! I couldn't even take care of him before he was even born! I had no choice but to leave him for another family!"

"You say it like you have no one else to blame. Am I correct? Technically, you're at fault, because you tossed Kurai away like garbage," the figure snapped.

The shadow came closer and closer towards Mariah. In response, the woman backed away in fear.

"W-what do you want from me?" cried Mariah.

The figure loomed over the woman, smiling evilly. "I want you DEAD," she spat venomously.

A blade was drawn from the figure's jacket, looming above Mariah's head. The blade's sharpness slightly intimidated the brunette, and she winced at it.

"Say goodnight, forever, Mariah!" spat the sillhouette.

In a flash, Mariah felt something pierce through her heart. She resized that a blade had been lunged through her chest. Blood started to drip down her body. Mariah started to hyperventilate. She grasped her neck and held it attempting to breath.

"You…. You stabbed me…" wheezed Mariah. "Why?…." she cried, trying to breathe.

"Heh, that's for me to know and for you to never learn! Take it or leave it. Have fun in the afterlife, Mariah!" mocked the silhouette. "3…. 2…. 1…"

Mariah felt her eyes close on their own, and her body began to shut down. Everything started to go dark as her body continued to cease activity. The whole world felt completely white to Mariah.

"Kurai….. Forgive me… I've been such a terrible mother…" whispered Mariah hoarsely, "you will never hear from me ever again…."

**BRING! BRING!**

At the stroke of midnight, Mariah felt her entire world collapse in front of her. Everything became white, she could no longer function properly, and life was about to end for her. Finally, Mariah took one last breath, then she fell onto the floor.

She never woke up ever again.

* * *

The silhouette smiled evilly at her dead target. Blood started to circle around the corpse, leaving her in a pool of blood. The girl scrunched her fists together in success. "Now that the stupid woman is out of the way, it's time to finish my mission!" she said with determination.

The girl walked up to the coffin and careful lifted it open. Once it was open, she stared at Kurai's body in awe. Kurai laid in his coffin like a doll sealed inside its packaging. What made the girl stare at Kurai's corpse even more were the chest scars. I remember when Kurai had received those scars! That was the day that blasted ninja assaulted him! I swear, when I see him, I will make him pay! What am I thinking? I have a mission to fulfill!

The girl reached into her bag searching for an item. She moved her hand around feeling for things. So far, she only found trinkets.

"Where's that stupid parcel that bookworm Caswell handed to me? I know I stuffed it in here somewhere!" she growled.

After more searching, the girl pulled out a red plastic box from her bag. She carefully opened it and looks a the content inside. A syringe laid inside the box. To the side of it was a small portion of a strange liquid. The vial was taken out of the box and so was the syringe. Step by step, the drug was poured inside the needle. She took her time to fill the syringe to the right amount of the drug. A few minutes later, the syringe was filled with the required amount necessary to carry on her mission.

"The time has come for you to rise from your sleep, Kurai," said the girl, readying the syringe.

The girl grasped Kurai's arm in one hand, and the syringe in the other. She wasted no time with jamming the syringe into Kurai's arm. She watched intensely as the drug started to lose amounts as it seeped into the boy's body. "Any minute now, soon, Kurai will be alive again…." thought the girl.

After the last drop of the liquid inside the syringe entered Kurai's body, the girl took a few steps back away from the coffin. She breathed heavily as she anxiously waited for something to happen. She had gone through so much trouble just to get to Heartland City. If this mission failed, so be it.

Suddenly, the unthinkable happened. Realizing that she could be seen, the girl hid back on the roof and concealed herself.

* * *

Down below, Kurai's fingers started to slowly move along with his feet. He felt himself being able to breath again, and his eyes started to blink themselves open. His mind started functioning again and everything was no longer black. Color returned to his eyes as he could see again after being dead. Kurai coughed loudly as he slowly sat up from within his grave. Taking a deep breath, he spoke for what seemed like an eternity. "Ugh, what happened? The last thing I remember was Heartland Tower, and then Yuma- Yuma Tsukumo," he hissed, "that maggot will pay for ruining my reign as king! How dare he disobey me! I'm more superior than that shrimphead! Yuma's friend, Kotori Mizuki, she is nothing to me anymore, since she would rather be with Yuma over me!"

"Now, now, Kurai, is that the way you should talk around me? You know how much I hate hearing you talk about that geek Kotori Mizuki," said a female voice.

Kurai jolted from his coffin and looked around his tomb. He noticed it was pretty empty and there weren't many items inside except for an altar and his own grave. His eyes scanned the entire room for any movement and other people.

"Who's there? Show yourself! I'm not afraid of you!" snarled Kurai, positioning his blade in his hand. He looked around once more. "Stop hiding and come out where I can see you, right now!"

In a flash, the same shadow dropped from the roof and landed on her legs and steadied herself with one hand. She looked at Kurai, her attention not leaving him one bit.

"Do I know you? Something about you is kinda familiar," said Kurai, lowering his weapon.

"Come on, Kurai, you know better than to attack me recklessly. Since when would you hurt me? It's about time I showed you who I really am!" said the girl.

The girl quickly threw her cloak off of her body and tossed it to the side. You could see what the mysterious girl looked like now that she was no longer concealed. She mostly resembled Kotori and they had the same green hair. There was no bun or a ribbon in her hair, which made it a little messy. It was shorter than Kotori's hair. The girl wore a yellow felt jacket over a tan-colored top. She had on blue jean shorts and black leggings. Brown boots resembling UGGS complied with her style. Green-framed sports shades rested on her head and it matched her personality: Wild and tomboyish.

Kurai checked out (he literally checked her out) the girl standing in front of him. She was cute for a girl for her age and you could tell that she was a tomboy just by her personality.

"You wouldn't happen to be my best friend, now wouldn't you? It has been a while since I saw you and the others at Darklad City. What brings you here to Heartland? You came to my rescue?" he teased. "Heh, I was dead for who knows how long and you did this for me?"

The girl gave a small laugh. "Kurai, at least you remember me. Since you were dead…. In case you don't remember, my name is Luka Mazaki," she said, placing her hands on her hips.

Suddenly, it all came back to Kurai. He raised his sunglasses over his head and approached Luka. "Why bring me back alive? I failed to conquer Heartland City. You better have a good for this!" he snapped.

"Kurai, relax. I only did this because I am not gonna let you get your ass whopped by Yuma Tsukumo. Besides, Yuma destroyed your chances of being king, and I could have ruled alongside with you! Did you ask me? NO! You chose that maggot Kotori Mizuki!" snapped Luka.

"Babe, I'm done with Mizuki. The only reason I even liked her was because of her really short skirt. Hell, she was freaking hot- OW!" growled Kurai, rubbing his shoulder which Luka punched. "What was that for?"

Luka quickly grabbed Kurai's jacket collar and held him by it."That's what you get for being a pervert! Focus, Kurai! We have other things to focus on, like, getting back at Yuma and that Mizuki girl," she hissed, poking him in the chest.

Kurai sighed, then gently pushed Luka away. "Babe, first things first. If you're going to work with me to get back at Yuma and his pesky friends, I think we'll need ours. You catch my drift?"

"Pssh, yeah! When do we start?" smirked Luka.

Kurai turned around to face the moon. The light shone luminously at him. He sighed deeply before lowering his sunglasses. He snarled angrily, "Yuma Tsukumo, you will rue the day you and Kotori killed me. You better enjoy life while you can! Want to know why? **Kurai** will hunt you down and kill you!"

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**Oh my….. Kurai is ALIVE! Looks like Kurai is no longer the same as he was before. His childhood friend, Luka, has joined him to take down Yuma and Kotori! What could these two be plotting? What exactly does Kurai mean by that they'll need their friends?**

**TO BE CONTINUED?…**

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**Aww…. Now the story is OFFICIALLY over! I am overwhelmed by how this fic went. Personally, "The Shadow of Yuma" came into my head while on spring break vacation. I thought, "Many people have opposites of themselves, so why not Yuma?" After a little planning and endless plot ideas and scrapping, "The Shadow of Yuma" was the result!**

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**Now, onto my characters, Kurai Tsukumo and Luka Makazi. Both of them are from a dimension that contains a world opposite of Yuma's world. They are darker versions of Yuma and Kotori. Are there evil versions of Yuma's friends? We'll have to see about that!**

**Kurai's name means "dark" in Japanese and it reflects his personality. His real inspiration was from Scourge the Hedgehog from the Archie Sonic comics. As I plotted out the story, I tried avoiding a similar plot to the Sonic comics. After more thinking, I had thought of a new, completely different plot. His backstory was hard to write, because I wanted it to be different from most villan's backstories.**

**TRIVIA:**  
**• Kurai hates being called a freak because he was constantly called a freak as a child.**  
**• He grew up on the streets like Crow Hogan from 5D's, except he ran away from an orphanage before living on the streets.**  
**• In Chapter 24, the part where Kain went "buggo" when Yuma pissed him off was inspired by the iPod Touch and iPhone game, Cause of Death. Kurai being called a freak was inspired by the Maskmaker story from the game, and so was the scene of Kain having a psychotic episode; except that came from the Ladykiller episode in Cause of Death.**

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**Luka Mazaki is completely different from Kotori: Wild and tomboyish. Since Kotori is a girly girl, I made Luka the exact opposite.**

**TRIVIA:**  
**She was named after Luka Milfy, aka GokaiYellow, from Kaizoku Sentai Gokaiger.**

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**Lastly, I would like to thank each and every reviewer. You gave me great advice for my story, and I'm very happy about that! As a thank you, I will write a Zexal one-shot for you guys! Any one-shot suggestions, leave them in the comments or you can send me a Private Message! I would also like to thank those who made me their favorite author, and who marked my story and their favorite. You guys are amazing!**

**As for a sequel to "The Shadow of Yuma," I'm not sure if I should do one. If you have any plot suggestions or want me to do a sequel, leave your ideas in the comments or send me a Private Message!**

**It breaks my heart, but "The Shadow of Yuma" has come to an end. Thank you everyone for being so supportive since I posted the first chapter! And now…. Jikai o ai shimashou! (See you next time!)**


	26. Unused Ideas

**Unused Ideas and Deleted Scenes**

**What's up guys? I know what you're thinking: "Isn't this story over already?"**

**Yeah, it is, but that doesn't mean I can't show you ALL of the unused ideas for "The Shadow of Yuma!" Enjoy looking at a glimpse of what could have been in the story!**

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• Kurai's prototype name was Terios.

• Kurai was going to be renamed Luneth in the epilogue, but the name wasn't scary enough. Alas, I decided to rename him Kain instead.

• Dark Mist would have thought of using Kain to get Number 39 in the first chapter, but that was removed to avoid spoilers.

• At the birthday party, when Tokunosuke dared Yuma to be in his birthday suit, he was originally going to make Yuma wear the Pink Ranger suit from "Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers", but I thought it wasn't humiliating enough.

• Anna was to make her appearance during Chapter 6 as a new student, but that idea was scrapped.

• Another scrapped idea involved Kaito attempting to take Kain's soul when Kain had infiltrated Heartland Tower.

• During planning, I had an idea of having Shark, Takashi, Tetsuo, and Tokunosuke as jesters when Kain had Demon Tyrant Kaos bring them to his throne. Unfortunately, it wasn't as humiliating as I had planned. Then, I thought of servants, and I almost used that idea. After watching "The Odyssey" in Honors English class, the animal idea hit me. Hence, you get four boys morphed into a panther, a parrot, a spider monkey, and a mountain goat.

• Deciding what animals the boys would be were hard.

• I was stuck between a panther, a shark, and a crocodile for Shark. A crocodile was eliminated because if Shark was a crocodile, he would need a LOT of sunlight. A shark was totally out of the question, because they'd die instantly without any water. I had chosen a panther after seeing a picture depicting Shark as a panther.

• I originally planned for Tetsuo to be a lizard, but that was scrapped.

• Takashi was going to be a horse, but by analyzing his personality, it just didn't fit. I realized I needed a talking animal, so you get a very chatty parrot! :D

• Tokunosuke would have been either a bear cub or a puppy.

• When Dark Mist and Astral were fighting for Demon Tyrant Kaos' control, Astral would've snapped Kaos out of his trance. Kaos would change back to Hope and kill of Dark Mist. That idea was scrapped because I wanted to make the scene more dramatic with Kaos committing suicide, Astral losing his temper and killing off Dark Mist.

• Last, but not least, another scrapped scene involved Dark Mist torturing Yuma in order to find Astral.


End file.
